Murasaki Chronicles
by Silveriolu16
Summary: Based off HGSS games. More realistic version of the games with some add-ins and twists. male oc/Silver
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, belongs to Gamefreak and affiliated parties. I only own my ideas.

Author's note: Since this is the Hgss time-period, there will be a pokemon following each of the main characters unless stated otherwise. There are also a few things you should be aware of.

Changes from games:

1\. All tm's will be able to be used multiple times just like in Black, White, ect.

2\. Main character is blind, so if that bothers you leave now.

3\. Silver's p. o. v. will be used sometimes.

4\. You will see generation IV pokemon from all regions associated with it. There will be ones I pick, but you will see them. This will be explained in the story and will mostly be trades the main character makes. There may also be pokemon from other generations past IV but I haven't decided yet. They will be obtained in the way already described unless stated otherwise.

Warnings: ooc characters (definitely some) oc's, yaoi (boy x boy relationships) psychic people, immorality (criminal teams always are) adult language (definitely, but not sure how much just yet) pokemon out of place and region, Silver p. o. v. (because I want to write him in sometimes) some blood and torture probably ... think that's it.

Pairings:

male oc/Silver

Male oc/Silver/male Lucario (possibly)

No others decided yet

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

One more thing!

…

Since this is my story, I will be adding some things in that may not be in the games. This includes characters, items, pokemon, and my own ideas. I put them in for a reason, so if this bothers you the back button is there. (It's green by the way).

* * * Prologue to Johto * * *

There are many regions in the world of pokemon. Some are more infamous than others however. For instance, Kanto, where the great Red defeated Team Rocket. Johto also has its fame, but that mostly lies with its champion: the Dragon Master Lance.

Seven regions have more power than the others Kanto; Johto; Hoenn; SINNOH; Unova; Kalos; Orre. Each is unique in their own way, having their own culture, styles, and even pokemon. Yes, there are pokemon only found in specific regions, but those lines have been blurring of late. As people travel between the regions, they expose region-specific pokemon to environments they were never in before. This creates chaos, communities of pokemon not native to regions like Johto and Kanto (to name an example).

With all this going on, it is sometimes hard to remember that each region has its own problems. Kanto thrust out the likes of Team Rocket (well let's face it, Red did that pretty much all by himself) and they are allied with Johto. All of the major regions are allied with one other region - except Orre. No one knows what to think of that place; deserts and lawlessness rampant. It is almost as if that's the culture there, like it's ok because it's isolated.

We will focus on only one region for now: Johto. A boy will be going on his pokemon journey soon ...

Murasaki age 16 —-

"I am going dad, whatever you say won't stop me." he forced himself to say as calmly as he could, his fists balled up so tightly it was a wonder he hadn't cut his palms with his finger nails.

"Fine. It looks like you do have some of Jessika in you after all."

* What the fuck? *

"What does mom havta do with this?" he barely kept from hissing, the words coming out clipped rather than irate like he'd planned.

"Everything. She's why you rebel against my wishes."

"You can't possibly think I want to stay in this small town and run the business from here! I hate it here. Everyone knows what everyone's doing - I can't say something without every kid and his mother knowing about it."

He bit his lip, trying to keep from lashing out any further. That would get him nowhere. Talking to his dad was like trying to convince a wall it was an Onyx when it obviously wasn't.

* Why can't he just leave me alone? All I wanna do is travel, is that such a crime? *

He glared in the direction of the man across from him, hoping that would get the point across. The stuffy person across the table looked nothing like him he knew. Straight and aristocratic features seemed to make up the man's entire body, blue eyes and neat blonde hair finishing off the polished appearance. Though he could not see him, he knew from what Momo told him.

* Must have got my looks from mom ... *

He grit his teeth, violently pushing the urge to ask about the woman down.

* He'll think I'm weak if I do that. As is he will probably try and stop me tomorrow. *

He ran a hand through his two-toned hair and sighed, leaning against the hard dark wood of the table and rolling his eyes at the infuriating 'gentlemen.'

"I'm leaving whether you like it or not dad. I dare you to try and stop me."

And with that he left the living room, the door slamming behind him as he took the stairs to his room.

—- —- —-

A few hours later he closed the book he'd been reading (one Momo had sent him) and blinked several times. Pressing a button on his talking watch revealed that he'd been reading most of the evening, 22:00 chiming out in the device's oh-so-cheerful voice.

* Dad really needs to get a new hobby, what'll he do when I'm gone? *

This thought brought a snort out of the boy.

* Why am I even thinking about him now? After tomorrow I'm never coming back to this house again. *

He'd decided that after some contemplation. Not coming back would serve the old man right.

—- —- —-

The door creaked slightly as he listened into the darkness of the yard. When nothing out of the ordinary blared at him (likely making him wince at the very least) he crept out of the house. The porch was his favorite place to sit when he wasn't in his room, dad never came out here. He said it reminded him too much of that 'horrid woman.' Of course, he meant mom, all the problems the old man had seemed to stem from the woman he'd married and then been abandoned by. Or at least, Murasaki'd been abandoned by her.

Instead of dwelling on the dismal, he decided to do a little exploring. From experience he knew the yard wasn't tiny, but also not so huge he'd get lost within seconds. A small smile slid onto his face as he quietly walked through the garden dad insisted on keeping. He kept out of the flower beds, bending down to sniff a plant here and there. All seemed well until a loud (a cacophony to his enhanced hearing) jingling sound rang out.

* What? *

He listened for a moment, the sound coming again.

He covered his ears with a wince.

* Whatever that is it's way too fuckin' loud for this time of night. *

He needed no time to figure out the course of action he'd take; just moved toward the noise. The idea of getting hurt did not worry him, all he wanted was to silence the horrible racket.

* There'll be time for caution when I'm old and can't walk anymore ... *

The sound faded as he got closer, the ringing and jangling becoming a low roar instead of the thunder it had been.

* This is your fault dad. If you'd gotten me out before they changed me ... *

There was nothing he could do about the past, so now wasn't the time to think about it. He stopped when the noise did, wondering what was wrong. Just as he bent down to feel the ground, thinking there was something blocking the sound, it came again.

* Ugh ... *

His fingers brushed against something cold and solid.

* Why's there a piece of metal out here? *

Further examination brought more confusing information.

* A set of keys? Did I leave mine out here again? *

He picked up the keys and held them against his chest. If they were his he didn't look forward to losing them again.

—- —- —-

Ten minutes later he'd done all he could to identify the set of keys. They were so far from what his own looked like that he hoped no one else had lost them. He was about to put them in a box when the jangling started once more.

* Give it a rest will ya! *

The only thing that made it stop was when he held the keys. Laying the metal objects flat against his palm was the only thing he could think to do at the moment.

* They must belong to someone ... *

(Can you help me?)

He almost dropped the things in surprise when he heard that.

* I'm not a telepath. How can I hear a voice in my head? *

At first he thought he was crazy, but then the voice spoke a second time.

(If you could find some food for me I would ... like that.)

The words seemed to be coming from his palm.

* No fuckin' way ... *

"You're a talking set of keys. Why do you need to eat?"

Even as he said that he could feel something strange about the metal he was holding. As he concentrated images and feelings flooded his mind. He groaned softly and nearly fell as the thoughts and feelings overwhelmed his mind. Digging his nails into his wrists helped a little, even though it wasn't exactly a healthy pastime.

He blinked furiously and tried to focus on the problem at hand.

"Wait, you're a pokemon aren't you? I've never heard of a pokemon that's a bunch of keys before."

(I am one key actually. The idiot-men who were holding me captive gave me keys to keep me happy.)

"Why?" he asked before he could stop himself.

(They thought, that as a Klefki, the keys would keep me from leaving. The idea of getting more ... they thought it would keep me from trying to run.)

* Never heard of that pokemon before ... *

"So you were being held captive, do you know where?"

(No. I am surprised you aren't ... how do humans say it ... ahhh yes! Freaking out.)

"I'm already a psychic. Who knows what those fuckers did to me ..."

(So this is normal for you?)

"More or less,"

—- —- —-

Feeding the Klefki took some work. He had to 'borrow' his dad's Ivysaur in order to find the berries the key-ring pokemon asked for. Thankfully the grass type filled the bag he'd given it to the brim before coming back. After the hungry pokemon had eaten its fill (he Murasaki had to remind himself) sleep was in order for both pokemon.

the last thing he did before going to bed himself was finish packing for the next day. He put a few of the special berries in his pack, but mostly they were too big to fit. He was also carrying a special type of poke ball Momo mailed him as well. She said it was called a Dusk ball, something that should be useful on his journey. She'd sent three and he was taking them all. He had clothing, some money he'd saved up, and a few water bottles packed already. Along with the already-mentioned stuff he also had a notebook and writing utensils.

He needed them to feel sane sometimes. Writing down or drawing the impressions he got from people, objects, and the areas he went to was often the only way to purge them from his mind. If he let them stay, he'd lose track of reality; become a zombie in his own body. So he drew and wrote, a feat for someone with his particular ... traits.

* Huh, I can't blame this on dad for once. Is hell freezing over? *

He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly as he tied the travel bag closed. He'd be out of here tomorrow; just had to get a starter and license and he'd be free. One could legally become a trainer at ten, but he'd chosen to stay home and study. Maybe study wasn't the right word. He wasn't a bodybuilder, but sports was a big part of his life. He used to push himself so hard he'd pass out from the exertion when he was younger.

* Thank Arceus I don't do that anymore ... * were his last thoughts as he lay Klefki on the bed next to him and fell asleep.

Silver age 17 —-

Escaping from the base was almost too easy. Kimi was the distraction that allowed me to leave unnoticed. She wasn't actually interested in dating any of the executives (especially not her boss Proton) but she made a convincing vixen when she wanted to. To a 'normal' person, her methods might be questionable, but I wasn't going to complain when she was helping me.

—- —- —-

I left the bike I'd taken from the base behind some bushes at the edge of Cherrygrove. No one would find it there, it wasn't spectacular anyway, so why would someone want to steal it? I took what I could get, making a big deal of low-quality equipment wouldn't do me any good now that I'd left. I could survive on shit like that, I'd done it before.

When father thought I was just an urchin coming to steal his money he refused to even let me inside the office he occupied most of the day. My mom ... let's just say they weren't married and leave it at that. The situation was way too complicated and I really didn't feel like remembering what it'd been like before.

Team R was all I had as family up until now, but I didn't like where things started going after a while. Father was making some (what I thought) shady deals, and I wanted no part of that. If he wanted to get himself killed working with the wrong sort of people, he could, but I wasn't going to be in on it. That's why I planned the escape in the first place ... And I was fortunate enough to make friends with the newest operative who just so happened to know how to get her way despite being so young ... or maybe because of it.

I pulled out my phone and stared at it. The red and black casing cracked a little as I held it, feeling the strain of my mind's turmoil.

* I just turned my back on everything I've been taught. Sure I wanted to for a few years now, but now that it's happened ... everything's so much more real now ... *

I crushed the phone in my hands. It wasn't difficult. Despite how expensive it was, the material was flimsy as hell.

The next thing I did was go to a store. There wasn't a huge selection in Cherrygrove, but I managed to find clothing that fit me well enough. I also picked up something else that would help as well. There was nothing I could do about my hair - the color was so vibrant dye couldn't cover it up with dyes - but I could do something about my eyes.

—- —- —-

I growled under my breath as I finally managed to pop the remaining contact into place. I blinked as immediately my eyes became wet; the material of the 'false' eye irritating my real one. Ok, so contacts weren't really false eyes, but for me these would be. As I looked in the mirror (I'd rented a room at the Pokemon Center earlier) a completely different guy from the one I was used to stared back at me. Again, nothing could be done for my hair, but I didn't look like myself otherwise.

I'd always liked wearing red, but now a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue muscle shirt were my outfit. A dark blue leather jacket finished off the look along with a pair of boots that were heavier than I was used to. The point was that I hated this color - the blue made me think too much of things I'd rather not - but it was the perfect disguise. Who would ever guess a guy who practically lives and breathes red and black would put this on? And my eyes, that was even better.

My silver eyes (what I suspected prompted my mom to name me after the color) were now a sea green. If the color didn't feel so wrong I'd probably think of wearing these all the time. It looked ok, but blue (or green for that matter) just didn't feel right to me. Call me crazy if you want, but I try to stick to my instincts. And (unfortunately or fortunately for the forseeable future even if I didn't like it) this combination of color was just what I needed to blend in.

I bit my lip and then decided to tie my hair back with the leather strip I'd found and bought earlier as well. It wasn't perfect (never would be with this hair) but would have to do until I could think of a way to hide better. Yeah, the great Silver Rocketo hiding, so funny. I wanted nothing to do with Team R, and hiding was the best way to avoid them. Actually becoming a trainer was even better, which was what I was going to do next: get a pokemon and start on the gym challenge.

Murasaki, next morning, early —-

What woke me up the next morning wasn't the metal pokemon pressed against my face, or the alarm I'd set for 7:00. A shrill ringing was what woke me from the somewhat peaceful slumber I'd been trying to enjoy. A press of the watch button told me it was 5:30.

* What the fuck does someone want this early? *

Picking up the house phone felt like it took way more effort than it should, but I finally managed, growling softly into the receiver.

"What?"

"Is that how you greet your favorite sister 'lil bro?"

I groaned, tempted to hang up.

* She wouldn't call this early if there wasn't a good reason ... *

"What is it sis? And how can you be my fav'rite if you're my o'ly si'ter?"

"Whoa rough night? You never sound this bad."

I chuckled humorlessly. "You woke me up. I was trying to enjoy the few more hours I have before dad yells at me again."

"That bad huh? He still tryin' ta keep you at home?"

"Mo' you're lucky. You left with mom ... he won't let me out of his sight. Says I havta run t'e 'amily busi'nes."

"Shit bro I woulda taken ya with me if I'd known it'd be this bad ..."

I growled louder this time, enough that I knew she'd hear.

"Look, he can't control me forever sis. I'm more than old enough to become a trainer."

"I know but ... that doesn't keep me from worryin'"

"I know. Did you have a reason for callin' me at the 'as-crac' of dawn?"

"Yeah actually ..."

I waited, hoping she'd get to the point quick. Normally I was so happy to hear her voice I'd just let her talk on and on, but I was so tired and done with things around here my patience was wearing thin.

"Spit it out sis." I said after a couple minutes of silence.

"You're not mad at me are you?"

"No, I'm mad at dad, like usual."

"Oh ok. What I called for ... right! I wanted to wish you luck on your journey brother!"

I winced from the noise, but couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. That was what I liked about her the most, her ability to lighten the mood no matter how bad things got.

"Thanks sis."

"Mura I thought you'd be happier ... you're finally leaving that pompous miser behind ..."

"I would be ... except for the 'talk' last night."

She gasped and then growled loudly into the phone, sounding a lot like me.

"That fuckin'"

"He didn't ban me from going ... he just ... mentioned mom." The last part was almost whispered.

You'd think after all the years of mom's neglecting to care about me I'd be over it by now. She paid attention to Momo, so why not me?

"... hey! Don't let him get to you. You know he's just doing this to reel you in again ... like the fuckin' last time."

I nodded, though she couldn't see it. "Yeah."

"Everything'll turn out sunny Mura just you wait."

"I hope you're right."

"So, you got plans for after you get your first pokemon?"

I giggled involuntarily as Klefki somehow managed to land on my arm.

* He's a fuckin' key, how can he move like that? *

"'bro you ok?"

"Yeah, just surprised is all."

"By what?"

So I told her how I'd encountered the set of keys that turned out to be a pokemon.

"Keys ... hmmm ... I've never heard of that before."

I laughed a little. "Neither had I till last night."

"And what did he call himself?"

Even though it probably sounded nuts, I told her everything. She wasn't a psychic, but knew how stuff worked for us since she lived with me up until a few years ago.

"Klefki." I finally said, hoping that would help her identify my new friend.

(I won't be leaving. I want to come with you.)

"Uhhh ..." I said, not sure how to take that.

"What 'bro? Sorry, was checking the database I set up for pokemon last year."

"Anything?"

"Nada. Does he know where he's from?"

(I believe the region was called Kalos, but I haven't lived there since 'they' took me.)

"He tells me Kalos is where he thinks he's from. Who's they?"

(I told you, I don't know ...)

—- —- —-

Dad handed me a pokegear as I made my way through the living room on the way out of the house. He didn't say anything, but I knew he was just itching to. There was a note attached to the device, but I'd read that later, when I was far far away from this place. Contrary to what I'd said, the people of New bark weren't that bad. Almost anyone could be described as 'tolerable' when compared to dad. I slipped the paper into my pocket and clipped the pokegear to my belt just as Klefki reminded me he was still there. It wasn't that I didn't feel the metal against my palm where he was currently resting (being psychometric I felt and understood a lot more than the average person) but he'd been so quiet I'd forgotten he was there.

"What?" I asked softly, not wanting the rumor mill to go at me this morning. There was a small network of girls who just looked for gossip, I was sure of it. I couldn't take a shit without them knowing was how it felt sometimes. Unfortunately for them, none of them interested me. I wanted hard muscle under my fingertips; a body and mind that could match up to mine ...

More jingling brought me back to the task at hand.

"Yeah?" I asked, almost growling now.

(Can I ride in your pocket for now?)

"Sure. You know, if you're gonna stay I could buy a chain and wear you around my neck ..."

* Wow that even sounded stupid in my head before I said it ... *

(Sounds good, but you have nothing like that now?)

"I'll havta pick something up in the next town. This place's so small we havta go there to buy most shit anyway ..."

Silver, watching from a building near the lab —-

I turned sharply as a figure approached my hiding place. I'd been watching the lab for a chance to sneak in and grab a starter pokemon. I had Sneasel, but being a trainer from Johto meant I needed a starter from here. The figure slowly solidified into a person - a boy - as I watched.

He had the strangest hair I'd ever seen. It was white (albino white I suspected due to the color of his eyes) with streaks of dark purple in it. His eyes were a few shades lighter, but still purple.

* Yeah, I was definitely right about that ... *

What was also odd was his skin. It wasn't the deathly pale I expected of someone who looked albino, but a nice tan.

* Ok, are all people from this town weird-looking? I saw a girl with pink hair carrying a flower-pokemon earlier and thought that was weird? *

Though his features were odd, they seemed to suit him. He was wearing a black outfit with gold bordering. Let me put it this way: the sleeves and neckline of his shirt were gold, the rest black. So much black … His pants were pure-black, no hint of any other color could be found there.

* Wonder if he's into that goth stuff I've heard is so popular in Sinnoh? *

Murasaki, at the lab —-

I'd decided on the fire-type before I even tried out the other two. The first ball I threw produced a happy squeak from a pokemon that ran over and rubbed up against my legs.

"Hey buddy," I said as I kneeled down to lightly scratch at the creature's ears after taking a few seconds to find them.

The pokemon leaned into me and I felt heat bloom near my hands.

* Heat patches right ... you've studied this one Mura ... *

I smiled and picked up the little flaming ball of joy.

"Think I'll call you Ash."

—- —- —-

It didn't take long to get me registered and ready to start on my journey. I was wondering about getting a pokedex, since Momo got one when she started her journey. I would have to wait and see it seemed.

"Can you go see what Mr. Pokemon wants for me? I'd start you on your journey now, but he's close and I can't leave the lab."

* You have an assistant standing right there, why not ask him? And yes, I do know he's there even though he's being quiet. *

I could sort of 'feel' the man there.

"I guess so. I'm sure Ash and Klefki would be happy to do some training on the way."

"Try and be back before it gets dark." the professor said.

* Easy for you ta say, you're stayin' here. *

I nodded in the direction of the professor.

"Ok,"

Before I could leave the building the assistant gave me five Potions.


	2. Chapter 2

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * chapter I * * *

\- Cherrygrove, Mr. Pokemon, and a Rival -

Murasaki, outside lab (New bark) —-

As I exited the lab a girl called out to me.

"Hiya 'saki!"

* No not her ... *

I forced a breath, trying to keep the yell that threatened to escape me in check.

"What do you want Lyra?" I finally asked, doing my best to sound civil.

There wasn't a point in starting an argument with this girl, she never seemed to notice anything was amiss.

"Hey thought you hated that nickname?" the girl said as she stopped in front of me. I took a few steps back, not wanting to be so close to her overly happy voice.

"I do."

"Then why did you just stand there?"

* Are we really going to do this today? *

"Lyra what did you want?" I asked, my voice exasperated now.

She didn't miss a beat. "I have a gift for you!"

I covered my ears, the high-pitched sound of her voice was like nails scraping against a chalkboard for me.

"Ok," I said, hoping she'd give it to me and leave.

Lyra was from dad's company - or rather a product Of it's so-called progress. A telepath herself, she could plant thoughts into people's heads. It didn't work so well on me thankfully, something about there being too much 'stuff' to bypass.

"... were you listening to me? I want to come with you on your journey."

* Oh fuck no ... *

I tried to adopt a smile, but it probably came out strained.

"You'll have a lot more fun on your own. You can go at a pace you like that way."

My arguments were valid, but of course this was Lyra.

"But ... pleaseeee?"

"No." I said firmly, Cyndaquil nuzzling my arm lightly as I spoke.

"At least take my gift then ... please 'saki,"

"Do. not. call. me. that." I growled out. Would she ever fuckin' leave?

"S-sorry. Here,"

A box was placed in my left hand and I sighed inwardly.

* Maybe she'll finally leave ... *

"Well aren't you going to open it?"

* Oh hell ... *

I shrugged, untying the bow on top and opening the lid. Inside were some items.

"There's a Bright powder, a Choice band, a Metal coat, tm 06 Toxic, and tm 27 Return in there." the girl informed me.

I blinked, not sure I'd heard her right. After doing my own examination I figured she'd been telling the truth.

"Lyra I can't take these ... Do you have any idea how much they're worth?"

"I know! They were in my mom's storage and she said I could have them. I won't use them though so you take them."

A chirpy "marill!" was heard nearby.

"Oh Marill there you are! I was waiting for you to come back."

* Hmmm wondered where that chattery mouse was ... *

"I'll see you later right Murasaki?"

"Yeah," I said as I began making my way toward the grass. I knew because there were a lot of feelings and thoughts coming from a specific direction, something I'd felt before and recognized.

—- —- —-

Prof. Elm gave me the 'talk' about battling and how dangerous grass was before he let me go on his little quest. He also told me his pokegear number so I had it for later. After entering the digits in the pokegear I walked into the grass.

Cyndaquil decided to train first, jumping onto the ground and walking beside me. Through battling I discovered he knew two moves most Cyndaquil didn't: Howl and Covet. From my studies I knew these were egg moves, moves gotten through breeding with other pokemon of the same egg group. I was glad for the extras, he only knew Tackle and Leer, neither of which was very useful. Once he was level 10 Klefki took his turn.

By this point we were halfway between Route 29 and Cherrygrove city. I was a little worried about catching pokemon later with both my current ones training, but Klefki told me he'd hold back and assured me Ash would do the same. I had to take the key-ring's word for it, but the feelings I got from him didn't seem off or deceitful in any way.

(I am almost ready to leave here.)

"Ok that's good. You're level 10 right?"

(Level 8 actually, but soon I will be ten.)

"Good,"

—- —- —-

In Cherrygrove a man came up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shivered at the images that flooded my brain.

* I did not wanna know just how much you enjoy fish old man ... *

He showed me around the city, pointing out locations that I might be interested in like the Pokemon center and Pokemart. After the tour he gave me some Running shoes, which I was grateful for. I'd forgotten mine at home in all the excitement of last night and earlier this morning.

I'd found another Potion on Route 29 so I didn't need to go to the Pokemart just yet. I did visit the 'center though, both my pokemon were tired out. After healing them I walked toward the next patch of grass - beyond the city. The old man came up to me and gave me a Map card, which I'd be using shortly.

After looking up the way to the end of the next route (the most likely location for Mr. pokemon's house) I made my way into the grass.

—- —- —-

Klefki and Cyndaquil leveled some more in the grass on Route 30. There were a lot of items here as well. I found a Potion not too far in, got an Apricorn box from a man in a house, shook a tree and grabbed the Green apricorn that fell onto the ground, found an Antidote just lying around, and acquired a Pink apricorn before reaching Mr. Pokemon's house. Both my pokemon were level 13 at this point.

—- — —

I took a deep breath and knocked on the man's door.

"Elm sent you I presume?"

I nodded. "Come in come in!" the man (presumably Mr. pokemon) said as I went in.

He gave me what he'd e-mailed the professor about. Apparently he'd come across a pokemon egg and wanted Elm to look at it for him. I put the egg in my box and was about to leave when someone called out to me.

"Don't leave yet young man,"

I stopped and turned around.

(Old, very old, but seems to be trustworthy.)

I decided not to answer my key-friend and shrugged.

"What do you want with me?"

"I was wondering if you could do something for me."

* Why does everyone assume that I'm nice enough to run errands for them all the time? *

"What is it?"

"I just finished a new model of the Pokedex I created some years back. Will you test it for me?"

The first thing I'd learned from Momo about being a trainer was that if you could get a Pokedex take it. They were very useful, and at this point the extra information could only help.

I nodded. "Sure."

A square object was shoved into my hand and I put it in my pocket. It was likely made for people who could see, so I'd be taking it apart later to add my software and see if I could get it running smoother. I noticed that there was a piece of paper attached to the Pokedex as I left, hearing the paper crinkle in my pocket. After holding it for a moment I was able to discern what was written there: the man's number, Prof. Oak.

I had no idea how the 'reading' thing worked. It went along with my powers though, so I wasn't going to complain. It definitely made things easier. All I had to do was touch something with words on it and I'd get impressions of the people who'd touched it. Somewhere along the line of exchanging hands whatever it was had been read by someone, so I got the words shoved into my head, or in this case numbers.

An incessant ringing brought me from my thoughts. I growled under my breath and plucked the ringing object (my Pokegear) from my belt. Pressing the 'talk' button allowed the person calling to speak.

"What?" I asked.

"There has been an incident at the lab. I need you back here right away!"

"Tell me about it."

"Someone stole the Totodile. You have to come quick ..."

"Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can. Might be a while, I just got the item from Mr. Pokemon."

I didn't give the frantic man time to answer, just ended the call.

* I am no hero, why does he think I can help? Lyra is a trainer too, why can't he bug her with this? *

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair and running toward Cherrygrove.

—- —- —-

A quick healing later and I was nearly to Route 29 again. Before I knew what was happening something - or someone? - knocked me over.

I groaned, taking stock of my body to make sure I wasn't injured before standing.

"What the fuck?" was all I could think to say.

"Hey, you were the one standing in the way ..." a male voice said.

* He's not from New bark that's for sure. I'd recognize his voice if he was. *

After a few minutes of silence the guy spoke again.

"Why don't we settle this with a battle."

* Who said it was an argument? *

I shrugged, grabbing Cyndaquil's poke ball from my belt.

"Go!" the boy cried as he let out his pokemon. It exclaimed "totodile!"

"Cyndaquil use Howl."

The piercing sound was way too loud for comfort, but at least it raised his attack power.

"Use Ember."

"Use Leer." was the boy's command to his pokemon.

* Seriously? *

There was no need to order another attack, the thud proclaimed there'd been a solid hit.

(The Totodile is almost down for the count.)

"Good, now use Quick attack."

I heard air whoosh by as Ash picked up speed, finally crashing hard into the other pokemon.

(One down.)

"You finished?" I asked, recalling Cyndaquil.

"No. I still have one more."

"Let's go then."

"Go Sneasel!"

"You're up Klefki."

"Use Fairy wind."

"Are you actually going to attack me with a set of keys?" the boy asked incredulously. Instead of answering I focused on the sounds Klefki's attack made. It didn't take long for the Sneasel to faint. His trainer was so astonished by the fact I was indeed fighting him with keys, that his responses were slow and sloppy.

"What the hell? What kind of pokemon is that?"

"A steel-type." I said smugly, kneeling down to pick up Klefki.

"But ... I've never seen one before. Where did you get it?"

"He found me actually."

"Shouldn't you be running or something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

"Why?"

"I was asked to find the Totodile that's missing from the lab in New bark. I'm pretty sure that's it."

He spluttered for a moment, no words coming out just strange noises that reminded me of choking.

* I was bluffing, but he doesn't need to know that ... *

"You wouldn't tell anyone would you?"

"That depends, what will you do with it?"

"Train him just like any other trainer would."

"If you prove that to me I won't tell them about you. I won't even give them your name."

"You don't know my name."

"But I could get it couldn't I? Take it or leave it man."

"You're ... actually serious about this aren't you?" he asked in disbelief.

"Wouldn't have said it if I wasn't."

"You're going for the gyms right?"

"Yeah," I replied, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"I'll see you around then."

"Hey wait," I said before he could leave.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe next time we can use names."

"Sure," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice as he walked off, his footsteps loud and clear in my ears.

As they faded I realized my heart was beating faster than usual.

* Oh come on, I can't be attracted to this guy. I don't even know his name ... *

—- —- —-

At the lab I was introduced to a police officer.

"I'm not being arrested am I?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not yet, but you are a prime suspect in the kidnapping."

"He didn't do it!" a familiar voice said as a small hand was placed on my shoulder.

* Lyra she might just listen to you ... *

The girl was annoying (well I thought so anyway) but she was good at getting people to listen to her side of things when she wanted them to.

After some more talking (I didn't really pay attention to what was being said) the police officer addressed me again.

"So you don't know anything?"

"I ran into someone on the way here, but since I don't know what I'm supposed to be lookin' for no."

"That person could have been the kidnapper."

"Maybe, maybe not. What did you expect me to do? Go up and say: Did you steal the Totodile from the lab? I'm sure that would have gone over well."

"'saki's right, that's just a great way to scare people away." Lyra said.

"Ok, ok, so you don't know anything. Did the guy you ran into give you a name?"

"No." I said, inwardly smirking. If she wanted to think it was a guy fine, but I hadn't given enough details for her to find the boy I'd battled earlier.

* I'll keep my promise, now you keep yours. *

The officer stayed for a little while longer. I counted my items and money as I waited for her to leave. I had seven Potions, an Antidote, the Dusk balls Momo gave me, a few of the berries Klefki liked, my notebook and writing - drawing utensils, and 500 poke dollars from the fight with the Totodile-snatcher. As they talked I got a feel for the layout of the Pokedex Oak gave me, deciding to mess with it at the Pokemon center in Cherrygrove later. I knew what I was doing when it came to modifying and taking apart electronics, but that kind of stuff took time. I wanted to catch some pokemon before renting a room at least.

When Elm finally told me he'd get back to me about the egg later (it felt like hours but was probably only ten minutes or so) I was so ready to leave. Lyra had gone off somewhere, I hadn't heard her annoying voice in a while. Momo called as I was about to run in the grass.

"What's up?" I asked as I pressed the right button, taking the call.

"I'm the one who should be askin' ya that." came her happy voice.

* Thank Arceus I still have you sis ... *

"Not much. I picked up an egg for Prof. Elm, trained with my pokemon, battled a boy who ran into me, and just got finished being interrogated about a crime I didn't commit."

She laughed. "You never do things the easy way do you 'bro?"

"Actually I try not to get into trouble, but it sticks to me like fuckin' glue anyway."

"There was a reason I called actually." she said, getting straight to the point.

* She must be busy training, she's never this straightforward. *

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you'd like me to save some of your money. I can set up an account and buy you useful items here in Hoenn."

"You'd spend it only on useful things I might need?"

"Yeah of course bro! Don't insult me."

"Sorry it's just ... livin' with dad for so long has made me wary about the money I manage to earn myself."

She snorted. "That man should never have had kids."

* Easy for you ta say, he isn't your dad. *

Mom had married before 'mr. jeigar' and that was where Momo came from. Of course Mr. Jeigar was my dad, which made us half-siblings. That never took away from the fact that we were all the other really had. Mom paid attention to Momo, but her job was demanding and we'd had to fend for ourselves more than once. Momo practically raised me by herself, but we didn't have that awkward mom-sister problem that other kids had.

"... earth to Mura!"

"Sorry sis,"

"It's alright. So is that a yes or a no on the saving?"

"Yes. You'll be takin' what, half of what I get from battling?"

"That was the plan."

"Sounds good,"

A short time later I hung up feeling much better. Thankfully Momo was the light to my darkness.

* Well she is for now at least. *

Lyra tapped me on the shoulder before I could cross into the grass. She insisted I 'watch' as she caught a pokemon. As annoying as that was she at least gave me 5 poke balls to use afterward.

"Thanks," I said as she left.

—- —- —-

The only pokemon I caught on Route 29 was a Sentret. There were Pidgey too, but I didn't feel like catching one. I ended up calling her Ferret.

* Three huh? I wonder how many I'll catch today? *

—- —- —-

On Route 46 (or the partial Route 46 as the map informed me) I found several Geodude and Spearow. I caught one of each, naming the flying-type Sora (a male) and forgoing a nickname for the rock-type (a female).

After those captures I went back to Cherrygrove. Sentret was put into the pc and I purchased more poke balls (just in case) before heading out to Route 30. I found several pokemon there, catching them quickly.

Ledyba (who I named Vallan) was the first. I caught a female Caterpie next, naming her Streak due to a red streak along her back. A female Weedle who I called Honey came next, and I finished off the day by snagging a Pidgey as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * chapter II * * *

\- Exploring and Flying vs. Team Purple -

Murasaki, at Pokemon center (Cherrygrove) —-

In the Pokemon center I sat on the bed in the room I'd rented, a mess of wires and machine parts scattered around me. Cyndaquil and Klefki were both out of their balls. Occasionally a furry nose poked my arm, but otherwise the pokemon left me alone. I was pretty sure Klefki was asleep, the key-pokemon hadn't spoken in over an hour. Eventually Cyndaquil stopped nosing my arm and curled up in my lap. I grinned slightly, adjusting the wires I was working with to accomadate him.

Once I finished I carefully fitted various wires and small parts back together. The Pokedex didn't look any different from the outside, but it held many new features. I'd even tweaked the batteries so they lasted longer.

* Well let's see if this thing works. *

After a minute of fumbling I finally got the thing to turn on. I'd forgotten how I re-wired the 'on' switch, so it wasn't as easy as it would normally be. The controls were now different, modified to fit what I knew worked, but anyone else would be even more confused than I was now.

"I am Dexter." a somewhat cheerful voice said after the machine powered up.

* Where did he come up with that? *

After scrolling through the menus for a while I came across some useful information. Apparently some pokemon could only be encountered at a certain time of day. There were even several that could only be found at night. I smirked, happy to have something to do that didn't involve sitting on a bed for many hours.

* Let's see what I can find. It's after 20:00 so the 'night' pokemon should be out now. *

—- —- —-

I was disappointed to find out Ratatta was one of the 'night' pokemon.

* Talk about fuckin' useless pokemon ... *

I managed to capture a Hoothoot thankfully. In its current form it was rather weak, but after evolving it would become a flying-psychic type. I was looking forward to that. I'd wanted a psychic type ever since Momo showed me her Gardevoir.

* Maybe I can convince her to trade with me when I get better pokemon. *

I went back to the Pokemon center after catching the Hoothoot. I powered up the pc, giving myself a minute to get acquainted psychically with the machine. Unfortunately pc's weren't something I had a lot of experience with. I could probably take them apart and put them back together, but that was about it.

(Need help?)

"Would be nice ..."

(What is the problem?)

"I can't figure this thing out."

(You mean you can't 'connect' with it?)

"Yeah,"

(Let me be your eyes then. I can tell you what you have selected and help you get the team you want.)

"Thanks,"

Luckily for me no-one else was in the lobby, even the nurse was off somewhere.

* The last thing I need is to advertise my freakish-ness. *

Eventually I decided to keep Cyndaquil and Klefki, adding Geodude, Hoothoot, and Spearow as well. I knew it might take a while, but I wanted to evolve some of them. Cyndaquil would be easy, he just needed to grow one level, but the Spearow and Hoothoot didn't evolve until level 22 or later. I wasn't too sure about Geodude's evolution level, but probably wouldn't train her enough to find out for a while. She was just there to help with the birds at this point.

After bringing the three new additions to level 10 I wandered back to the Pokemon center. The nurse was back and healed them all for me, good thing too since I was getting tired myself. After checking out the Pokegear dad gave me to try and see what I could improve (not taking it apart just looking) I yawned hugely and shucked off everything except my boxers. Cyndaquil snuggled against my chest, something I allowed gratefully. I felt cold for some reason. Klefki also climbed into bed with me, making himself comfortable on one edge of the pillow.

—- —- —-

Before continuing on Route 30 I went to the Pokemart and searched for anything I could string Klefki onto that I could wear. After a rather frustrating half hour a woman finally came up to me and asked if I was looking for jewelry. I confirmed that and she directed me to another store in town, this one much smaller. I grabbed a heavy silver chain (wouldn't want the links to break and have Klefki fall off) and paid for it. Stringing the pokemon onto the chain and slipping the whole thing over my head I set off to continue onward.

—- —- —-

The rest of Route 30 was pretty boring. I kept coming across the same pokemon from before, but what should I expect? I battled four trainers and was able to find a Potion hidden inside a flower with the help of Cyndaquil and Klefki. Geodude, Spearow, and Hoothoot reached level 13 as well. I hoped Ash would evolve soon, I was proud of how he stood up to pokemon, even though I know he just wanted to curl up in my arms.

The first wild pokemon battle on the next route (31) allowed Cyndaquil to evolve. The only real differences I noticed were that he wanted to fight more and that he was bigger. I smiled as I rubbed his back.

"You did so good Ash."

He gave a happy cry and leaned into me, almost singeing my jeans.

"Hey, watch it," my tone was light though. With the amount of black I wore a little burnt fabric would only be a problem if he seared holes through it.

Bellsprout was the only new pokemon on the route. I caught one I intended to keep, and ... well, accidentally caught another. A poke ball fell out of my pack and the weed just jumped inside it.

* Maybe someone will trade for it. What am I supposed to do with a second one? *

After exploring for a while, I came to a cave. The map called it Dark cave. There was only one new pokemon there that might be worth catching, a normal-type: Dunsparce. I entered the cave and Klefki started jangling madly.

"What is it?"

(I don't like it here. It's too dark.)

I groaned. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark ..."

(I just really hate it here. I'll be fine once we leave.)

"If you say so ..."

After finding a Potion it was time to leave the 'scary' cave.

Before going into Violet city there were a few more things for me to do. I collected some items: Blk apricorn, a poke ball, and another Potion - putting my total at 10 Potions. I also battled a bug keeper and registered his number in the Pokegear. If anything he might battle me again. After all that was done I got my first feel of Violet as I entered.

—- —- —-

In the city I bumped into a boy who wanted a Bellsprout. He said he'd trade an Onyx for it. I grabbed the extra Bellsprout from earlier and made the trade. The Onyx wasn't spectacular, but I felt better about training it than Geodude. The rock-snake was switched with Geodude, awaiting training in my party.

Ash ran off and came back with a poke ball in his mouth as I passed by a random street. I chuckled slightly, thanking him and putting the item into my pack. I walked to Route thirty-six, hoping to find more grass for training. What I did find was a very fat man (Klefki's description not mine) who gave me an hm.

From my classes at the two trainer's schools I'd attended I learned about those. They were moves you taught pokemon that could be used outside of battle (under certain conditions) but could not be forgotten unlike tm's. I wasn't sure what to do with Rock Smash, so just put it away for now.

—- —- —-

On Route 32 (another grassy area I came to after going through one of the city entrances) there were many pokemon I wanted to add to my growing team of fighters. Hoppip, Wooper, Mareep, and Ekans were the new additions. After going through the information the Pokedex had on them, I chose to train Mareep and Wooper. That brought my current team to Ash (Quilava) Rocky (Onyx) Skip (Wooper) Bolt (Mareep) Hoothoot and Klefki.

I made sure to level everyone up to lv 16 or 17 before returning to the Pokemon center. It was nearing noon and I was getting hungry. The nurse pointed me to a small eatery that also served pokemon and I paid for a nice meal. I left Rocky at the 'center so she could eat. She was too big to fit into a building unfortunately. After eating I checked the map of the city and decided to go to Sprout tower. I could catch a Gastly there (only at night unfortunately) and thought there'd be something else to do there as well.

—- —- —-

I collected a Paralyze heal, an X accuracy, and a Potion while going through the tower. Beating up the monks' pokemon wasn't too difficult. When I got to the floor just below the top of the tower I could hear banging and crashing.

* What the hell? *

Silver, the night before (Violet city) —-

It was almost six p. m. when I arrived at Violet city. I'd decided to train and catch as many pokemon as I could on the way. Thankfully I had some money saved up from the years I worked as part of Team R, which made this easier.

* I don't think finances will ever be a problem for me. *

Whatever my complaints and reasons for leaving, that was one of the best parts of working for them. The other was the commanding air and aptitude for strategy I gained while observing the operatives (those that actually did their job well that is).

The first thing I did when I arrived was heal my pokemon. The nurse smiled at me and greeted me as I entered. I forced myself to speak to her. Engaging in conversation with her was a good idea, she knew the city well. After a few minutes of chatting she gave me the location of an electronics store.

—- —- —-

After buying a Pokegear (one garaunteed to be untraceable) I started exploring the city and surrounding areas. I found a few items and also gained the hm Rock smash. Route 32 was the next place I went.

Lots of pokemon were there, but I only wanted a few. At this point my team consisted of Slash, (my Sneasel) Totodile, Kakuna, and Spearow. I spent some time evolving the bug and finally ran into the pokemon I wanted to catch.

Since I didn't have any grass pokemon yet Bellsprout was a nice addition. The last pokemon I caught out there was Mareep, an electric type. Since it was the only electric type I'd come across, I was eager to train it. Once everyone was level 14 or 15 I entered Violet city to heal them. I also checked out Dark cave, but found nothing useful there except a Potion.

—- —- —-

It was almost 10 o'clock when I went into Sprout Tower. Gastly was the newest addition to my team after fighting most of the monks. I say most because it was late and I was too tired to continue. After grabbing the items lying around I made my way back to the Pokemon center for some much needed sleep.

Silver, Sprout tower top floor (several minutes before Murasaki reaches the floor below) —-

Another monk stood before me.

* I hope this is the last one, I am really tired of battling Bellsprout. *

The man glanced at me before bowing.

"Shall we start the battle?" he asked.

I nodded.

* Yeah before my eyes fall off from all the green I've seen today. *

Though I'd finished the other monks off the night before wild Bellsprout kept popping up to annoy me today. I'd managed to evolve Totodile at least with their help.

"Start things off Bellsprout."

"Go Sneasel!"

The clawed pokemon appeared and grinned at me before facing his opponent.

"Scratch,"

The ice type smirked and then headed off.

"Keep using Scratch."

"Vine whip." the monk ordered.

"Dodge and keep using Scratch."

Slash dodged most of the vines, but got hit by one or two. Thankfully they only did damage and didn't tangle him up.

While dodging he managed to get close enough to land some hits of his own.

"Finish it with Faint attack!"

Slash sidled up to the grass type and smiled. The bell-headed pokemon seemed confused and just as it took a step closer to him he struck, landing a solid blow. The attack was a sucker punch to the thing's face, knocking it out almost instantly.

"That was surprising young man," the monk said as he withdrew his pokemon.

I shrugged, recalling Sneasel.

"Show them the power of grass Bellsprout!"

* Not another one ... *

"You're up Croconaw!"

The water type appeared and set its sights on the grass pokemon. He was bigger, but didn't really look much different than the previous evolution.

"Rage,"

He moved quick enough that the Bellsprout was caught off guard and was hit.

"Vine whip,"

I thought for a moment, coming up with a plan.

* It's a risk, but he is evolved now ... *

"Let it land some hits, then attack with Rage."

A series of furious blinks was the only response I got from my pokemon.

* If this works your attack will be stronger and that'll do more damage. *

"Why are you letting your pokemon be attacked?" the monk asked. I rolled my eyes and watched.

I winced a little as Croconaw took damage from the Vine whip's strikes. The monk hadn't called them off yet for some reason.

"Use Rage now,"

Croconaw nodded, holding its jaw, and charged toward the grass type. The hit was still weak.

* Damn I forgot he needs to use that more than once in a row. *

The monk sighed. "Vine whip again."

"Stay where you are,"

The vines slammed into the water type, but he was still standing afterward.

"Rage,"

He charged again, this time doing a lot more damage.

"Rage again,"

This last attack knocked the Bellsprout out.

"You surprised me with that last one. Here is my final pokemon!"

A small bird popped out of the ball and hopped a few times.

"Hmmm a Hoothoot ..."

I'd caught one myself, but hadn't tried to train it yet. I recalled Croconaw, grabbing another poke ball from my belt.

"You'll finish this Mareep."

"Growl."

"Tackle,"

Thankfully Mareep's attack went through first, there was no time for her to dodge the other's attack.

"Get up and use your own Tackle!"

She bleated and rushed to comply.

I was satisfied to see her ram into the bird, sparks buzzing around her body as she landed the blow. The flying type was pushed several feet back.

"Thunder shock!"

* That should finish it off, type advantage and all ... *

When the sparks connected the bird did not get up. Mareep walked over to me and rubbed up against my legs. I felt my hands shake a little from the electrical charge in her body as I rubbed her ears.

"You did great," I said as I returned her.

Sneasel popped out of his ball and leaned against me. I glanced down at him, checking for injuries, and sighed in relief at finding out they were minimal.

"You have earned this," the monk said as he handed me a flat disc. It was tm 70 Flash. I shrugged and put it into my pack before starting off toward the exit, the ice type following behind me.

Murasaki, Sprout tower (Entering top floor room) —-

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

* Maybe someone's battling up there ... *

I blinked several times when the noises stopped, getting ready to enter the room. I heard voices and then the door swung open.

Suddenly something shoved me backward and I almost fell.

A hand clasped mine and pulled me to my feet before I could try and figure out what happened.

"Sorry about that," the voice of the boy I'd battled yesterday said.

* So, you're here too ... *

"It's alright," I said, holding onto his hand for a moment longer before dropping it and stepping aside for him to exit the room properly.

"I thought it would take you longer to get here," the boy said.

I shrugged. "I could have taken longer if I'd caught any more pokemon to train."

"Hn,"

I thought for a moment, hoping he'd answer the question I had.

"You never gave me your name before ..."

He sighed. "Silver,"

I smiled slightly.

"My name's Murasaki."

He shuffled his feet a little.

"I'll see you later, I have to go."

I had the thought to convince him to stay, but by the time I reached out to grab him he was gone.

* What was that about? *

Battling the monk was interesting. It was the first time I'd fought a trainer with more than two pokemon who was somewhat of a challenge. Hoothoot took down the first Bellsprout, using Peck then putting it to sleep with Hypnosis. Another Peck finished it off. The second one was taken down by Ash, his Ember knocking it out in one hit.

The last pokemon (a level 10 Hoothoot) was a bit more of a challenge. I was glad that Hypnosis had a lower accuracy rate than most moves when facing that bird. Wooper's Water gun and Mud shot together were what it took to make it faint. The monk gave me tm 70 Flash and wished me luck at the gym. I earned 1200 poke dollars for defeating him.

—- —- —-

After healing my pokemon I found myself in front of the gym. Defeating the two trainers didn't take long. One more trip to the 'center to make sure everyone was healed and I was back inside the gym, ready to battle the leader.

"Murasaki from New bark versus Leader Falkner, begin!" the referee said.

I winced at the noise.

"I hope you know I don't go easy on people just because this is the first gym," Falkner said.

I smirked. "I hope you don't."

"Go! Pidgey!"

"Wooper this is your fight," I said as I released Skip from his ball.

He gave a happy cry.

"Sand-attack!"

"Mud shot,"

Wooper's attack hit first, I heard a splat before my ears picked up the sound of dust being whirled around.

"Dodge,"

(He barely dodged that. These birds are fast ...)

I didn't answer the key pokemon.

"Water gun,"

"Dodge that," Falkner instructed his pokemon.

"Keep using Water gun,"

Wooper knew what I meant. Instead of using the attack one more time, this command meant to use a barrage of them. Hopefully they would overwhelm the bird.

Thankfully for us it worked. After a few minutes I heard water hitting something solid and then a very loud thud. I assumed the Pidgey tried to get up because it gave a pained cry of "pid ... gey ..."

"Mud shot,"

After the attack all was silent.

"Pidgey is unable to battle. Send out your next pokemon sir," the referee said.

I smiled as Wooper playfully slapped my legs with his tail.

"Ok ok ... here," I said with a laugh as I brought out a handful of pokemon food from my pack. I'd bought it this morning before going to the tower. The food was snatched from my hand and the sound of crunching was heard.

* Good you need it. *

"Let's get the next round started." Falkner said as the laser-like noise of a pokemon being withdrawn was heard.

I nodded, picking up Wooper and holding him for a minute more while he finished the food. Once it was gone he went straight into his ball.

"Go! Pidgeotto!"

"Your turn Ash!"

"Ember,"

"Gust!"

I thought fast.

"Dodge and then use Ember."

I listened hard for the footsteps of my pokemon and the flapping of his. I smirked when I heard the crackling sound of flames and an angry squawk.

"Use Roost,"

I could hear the smirk in the man's voice and grit my teeth.

* That move heals health ... shit. *

"Quick attack, try and land a hit before it can finish."

I heard the thud of impact, but the bird started flapping almost immediately.

(This bird is much tougher than the last one.)

"Use Quick attack again,"

"Gust,"

(Ash seems confused. His attacks aren't doing the damage he thinks they should I am guessing.)

I growled under my breath. The evolved form of Pidgey, Pidgeotto would be stronger. Though I'd trained him well, Ash was used to much weaker opponents.

* Poor Ash, I should have tried to battle Silver so he had experience with stronger opponents. *

A few minutes later Ash was nearly unconscious and panting loudly. I could feel his exhaustion and panic since I was close and had been around him long enough to tell his feelings from others'.

(Do something before he knocks himself out ...)

* He did just learn that new attack in the tower. I can't believe I forgot about that! *

"Flame wheel!"

This attack ended the battle. Quilava had to use it a few times due to the ever-present Roost, but finally the Pidgeotto was unconscious. I smiled and walked over to Ash, rubbing his back lightly.

"You did great buddy."

* Next time I will find you stronger opponents to fight so you're ready for anything. *

"That was surprising." Falkner said after I'd recalled Quilava.

I raised an eyebrow in the direction of his voice.

"For a while there I thought your starter was going to lose."

(He has a point.)

I shrugged. "He needs a little more training, I'll work on it."

"Glad to hear it. You did really well ... can I ask you something?"

I nodded. "Are you blind?"

I blinked, running a hand through my hair.

"Why does it matter?"

My tone didn't exactly portray that I was offended, but I wondered why it mattered to him.

"I was just curious ... noticed you never looked at me or your pokemon during the battle."

I sighed. "Yes I am,"

"That's cool. I believe you earned this," he said, pressing a piece of metal into my hand. I ran my fingers over it as he continued talking.

"This is also yours: tm 51 Roost."

The disc was handed to me as well and I put both items away.

"Good luck, the next gym's with Bugsy and his bug-types."

"Thanks," I said as I left.


	4. Chapter 4

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * chapter III * * *

\- Ruins, A Cave, and A Shady Person -

Murasaki, Pokemon center (Violet city) —-

I counted my money as I waited for the nurse to heal my pokemon. I'd earned 1560 from defeating Falkner and got to keep 780 of that. Momo was quick; she'd set up the account for saving my money soon after the call ended. I received a message on my Pokegear after every battle notifying me of the transfer.

I was looking forward to hatching the egg Prof. Elm decided to give me. He'd called after the gym battle to tell me he was giving it to me. It was the same one Mr. pokemon found; I was to hatch it for further study. When the nurse handed me my poke balls I went over to the pc to deposit a pokemon to make space for the egg. I ended up putting Rocky in the pc.

Elm's assistant met me at the Violet city Pokemart. I smiled slightly as I held onto the egg for a few minutes before putting it in my pack. Momo knew more about eggs than I did, I'd call her later to ask about the best way to hatch and take care of it.

As it was night time I thought checking the city and surrounding area for 'night' pokemon would be a good idea. After consulting the Pokedex I went back to Sprout tower to catch a Gastly. That didn't take long and I made it back to the 'center to put Wooper in the pc and withdrew Gastly to train.

After leveling everyone up to lv 19 I came back to the 'center. Gastly was particularly hard to level, as its only offensive move was Lick until level 15 when it learned Night shade. I was beginning to like the gaseous pokemon, he enjoyed flowing through walls and playing jokes. If they were on me I would probably be a little annoyed though.

Something strange happened when he tried just that. He'd wrapped himself around me, probably trying to choke me as his little joke. Since I wasn't voluntarily touching him I didn't expect anything from my powers, but I was wrong. A flood of images popped into my head and I cringed, grabbing Klefki's metal ring which made me feel slightly better.

(He connected with you good. I can translate what he says for you. I am guessing you can't make heads or tails out of the images?)

"H-how did you know I saw anything?" I asked the key pokemon.

(You have that face, the same one you did when the 'fish' guy touched you back in Cherrygrove.)

"Right ..."

Silver, a few hours earlier (leaving Violet city) —-

I ran a hand angrily through my hair as I left the city. (I'd taken out the leather strap a few minutes earlier).

* Why did I act like that?! I feel like a teenage girl ... *

I felt a blush creep onto my face at the thought of the other boy.

* Why me! *

I'd acted strangely when I first met him. I wasn't exactly butting heads with him, but I had been rude. I usually tried to stay neutral (expression-wise) and civil with new people. This allowed me to observe them while not having to deal with the reactions people normally gave to my personality. Yeah, I was rude, but I had my reasons. I just didn't tend to like people as a whole most of the time.

* I really like him though ... *

Why couldn't I just forget about the boy? He was odd-looking, had traits I normally hated, (like being nice) and was another trainer.

* An exceptionally good trainer ... *

I had to admit that he was good, really good, and maybe that's what drew me to him.

* So what should I do about it? This is obviously more than just liking him ... *

Did I really like him more than just as a rival?

* Yeah ... *

I had to admit grudgingly to myself.

This was a new experience for me. I'd never been attracted to another boy before. I'd only had one crush, and that was with a girl who worked for my dad named Daysee. I'd been over it for a few years though. I didn't have a problem with gay people, but I never thought I'd be gay myself.

* I'll just have to work with this then. I'm good at playing people ... but for some reason I don't want to do that this time. *

I'd used those skills several times for missions while still with Team R.

* Turn over a new leaf ... maybe manipulating people all the time isn't how someone outside of Team R does things ... *

Murasaki, next morning (Violet city) —-

After taking a shower and putting food in everyone's bellies I went to the Pokemart to buy supplies. As I came in a man sidled up to me. He handed me an item and told me to keep the 'super potion.' I thanked him and made my way to the counter, intending to make my own purchases.

I bought a second Escape rope just in case. I'd picked up the first one right before I left Sprout tower yesterday. Four poke balls and 2 more Super Potions joined the Escape rope in my pack. I'd been buying poke balls steadily throughout the last few days, so still had some left. These were extras in case I found more pokemon and needed them.

After checking on the egg (making sure it was nice and warm and not cracked or damaged) I was ready to continue to the next town. I kept the egg wrapped in a spare set of clothing for now, I didn't have anything else to use.

As I left the city I wondered about the Kimono girl who'd come up to me earlier that day.

* What does 'your destiny approaches' mean anyway? *

That's what she'd told me, along with the fact that she was sure we'd meet again.

* Great, I have a stalker ... or maybe more than one. I got the feeling there were more Kimono girls somewhere ... *

On the way out I ran into a rock.

* Wonder if this can be smashed with Rock smash? *

I taught the hm to Mareep and had him smash the rock. An item fell to the floor and I picked it up.

(That's a Revive.)

"Thanks, I coulda figured that out myself eventually." was my response.

(That would have taken a while. I thought you wanted to leave this place ...)

"I do. Ash let's go."

(He ran off somewhere while Mareep was smashing the rock.)

"Great ..."

A few minutes later footsteps could be heard. I tensed up, an involuntary reaction, gripping Klefki's key-ring tightly.

(It's Ash. It looks like he has something for you.)

I blinked and reached out a hand to touch the fire pokemon.

"What did you bring me Ash?"

He nudged my leg and dropped something on the ground. I picked it up, immediately able to tell what it was since the impressions were so fresh. When people or pokemon touched things they left impressions or "imprints" on them. It was similar to finger prints I supposed.

"Huh, didn't think I'd get a Hyper potion so fast. Thanks buddy,"

And then I left the city.

—- —- —-

I had to steady myself against the wall I ran into so I could try and focus. I'd been here only a few minutes (a place the map called the Ruins of Alph) and was already feeling uneasy. Dizziness was there as well.

* What the hell's up with this place? *

I checked the map and went toward a wall, touching it and finding out there was writing on it. The letters (or at least the impressions I got from the wall) were odd. They weren't from any language I was familiar with.

"What the fuck?"

As my powers worked I got the sense that there was something behind the wall. Maybe someone had hidden something behind it. It was also possible that whatever was back there had been there a very long time. This place seemed very old to me. I pushed my pack off my shoulders to get a drink of water when my fingers touched the Escape rope I'd bought earlier.

* I wonder where I'll end up if I use this? There are a lot of buildings around here according to the map. *

Shrugging, I used it. Instead of ending up somewhere else, the wall disappeared. As I went to touch it once more I figured this out.

"Okaaay wasn't expectin' that."

(Neither was I. It was fun to watch it go though.)

"You are a very strange pokemon ..." I mumbled, sure he'd still hear it.

(Thank you, I would hate to be 'normal' and boring.)

A stash of items was behind the wall. A Heal powder, an Energy powder, a Pecha berry, and an Oran berry were all stuffed into my pack.

* Well that was interesting ... *

After making sure I'd gathered everything useful there I walked back to the main room.

(There's some sort of stone puzzle here.)

"Alright, let's see if I can solve it."

He directed me to said puzzle and I placed my hands over the stone, hoping to either get an impression of the last person who'd touched it or figure out the puzzle itself. What I didn't expect was the dizziness and nausea that came over me at the slightest touch to the stone surface.

* There's old energy here ... it's like my powers are being blocked ... *

I had to swallow furiously to keep from throwing up.

(Can I help?)

"Maybe ... do you know what the puzzle is supposed to be when it's finished?"

I gave him some time to contemplate the puzzle, taking several steps back and drinking the water I'd meant to earlier. I left the chain and the pokemon near the stone so he could get a better look.

When I came back he had an answer for me.

(I have no idea ...)

* I was afraid of that ... *

I grit my teeth and placed my hands on the stone, hoping I could keep from vomiting. Since I wasn't actively trying anything with my powers things were a little better. I gently nudged the steel-type aside so I could check the puzzle out myself.

After a few minutes of feeling the stone tiles I started playing around with the order they were in. Sometimes doing something with my hands helped me think. Arceus knew I needed it since I hadn't used my powers as much as I normally did recently. Not using them actually made me feel crazy, my skin and brain (and do not ask me how the second works it just does) itching like fuckin' crazy.

A while later I sighed and moved another tile. A loud rumbling came from the stone and I quickly scooped up Klefki and put the chain on as the rumbling got louder. The floor was also shaking almost as if it had a mind of its own.

* Freaky ... *

The last thing I remember was the sound of shattering stone before I fell unconscious ...

—- —- —-

I woke slowly, becoming aware of two things almost immediately. The first was that I was on a hard floor and the second revelation came in the form of a splitting headache.

* What the fuck happened? *

"You're awake good. I was getting worried about you." an unfamiliar male voice said.

(This man has been staring at you for a while now. I am tempted to hit him in the face with a Fairy wind.)

"Why don't you?" I asked, not caring that the man was there to hear me.

(It is wrong, pokemon aren't supposed to harm humans ...)

"Suit yourself then,"

"Who are you talking to?" the man asked.

I shrugged, choosing not to explain.

* He probably thinks there's something wrong with me anyway ... with me passing out and all ... *

(You fell down a hole.)

"What?"

(The stone the puzzle was attached to collapsed and you fell through a hole to end up here ... where ever here is ...)

"Why does trouble always find me?"

"Huh?" the man asked.

"Never mind. Can you tell me what this place is?"

"Oh! You're still in the Ruins, this is just a lower level. Take this, I think you'll find it useful."

A small electronic card was handed to me.

"... and after you put that into a slot on your Pokegear it will tell you what Unown you have caught ..."

I obviously hadn't caught most of that, but something did stick out in my mind.

* Unknown? *

"Back up there man, what's unknown?"

"Not unknown, Unown. Unown are a mysterious psychic pokemon that can be found here ..."

And then I tuned him out again.

Finally he walked off, probably bored.

* I don't think that guy would notice if I was paying attention or not even if I told him. *

I captured an Unown shaped like the letter m and then left this part of the Ruins. Klefki was eager to tell me the letter the Unown represented, so I let him talk.

Outside once more I consulted the map. I started off toward a gate that was supposed to lead to Route 36.

(There are rocks to break here.)

"Alright Bolt it's up to you then,"

The Mareep came out of his ball and bleated at me.

"Smash the rocks."

Ash ran off after the sheep and I wondered why.

(I think he is going to find stuff for you again.)

"I hope they don't get lost, this place is really big."

While I waited I pulled out my notebook and a pencil to draw. I didn't have any images to 'purge' from my mind, but I didn't need them to draw. Despite being blind I was very good with detail, but that was probably because Momo took it upon herself to teach me what things looked like. I also had personal experience with feeling objects and occasionally pokemon as well. I put pencil to paper and started drawing, my mind wandering as I did. Drawing had almost always been calming for me and I usually wasn't sure what I'd draw until whatever it was was completed.

Several minutes later I heard footsteps approaching. I put the pencil down and ran my fingers over the page, the familiar lines of Momo's physique greeting my finger tips. I always made sure to trace the lines over and over again with whatever writing utensil I used so I could feel them better. Before I could trace the lines (with fingers) to see how much detail I'd put into the drawing something tugged on my pant leg.

"Ash?" I asked, hoping he'd come back.

(He says you must come quick, he and the sheep found lots of items.)

"Ok let's go," I said, shoving pencil and notebook into the pack before slinging it over my shoulders. Ash started walking and I followed, listening to his footsteps. As excited as he was they were louder than usual to my ears.

* Y'know, if I didn't need that to get there I'd be running the other direction by now ... *

When he stopped I nearly ran into him.

"Ash, what is it?"

(We're here,)

"What did you guys find?"

Ash nudged my leg.

(He wants you to kneel down and look. There are too many to carry.)

So that's what I did, my fingers running over several objects.

There were two Revives, 2 shards, (which Klefki told me were red) and a fossil.

(I saw something like that back when I was captured, it resembles the puzzle now that I think about it ... once it was put together properly ...)

"What do ya mean?"

(The men said the fossil they had was from an ancient pokemon. The one you have here doesn't look the same, but I heard them mention going to somewhere called 'kanto' to get the pokemon 'revived.')

* Reviving fossils, what will someone come up with next? *

All the items went into the pack and I recalled Mareep.

"Did you find anything else interesting around here Ash?"

He pulled on my pant leg again.

"Lead the way,"

He led me to a Hyper potion which I stowed.

"That everything?"

(He says he found a strange rock you should look at.)

He led me there and I touched it, but nothing happened.

(Use your powers, there is something here, I just can't see it ...)

I tried that and an item fell to the ground.

(That's a Rare candy I believe ...)

I smiled as I picked it up.

"I've read about these, but I thought they'd be bigger than this."

I put the item away and rubbed Ash's back.

"Maybe you should be working with a policeman instead of me," I joked.

There was more to explore, so I let the Quilava lead me around. At one point he ran off, coming back with a Great ball. The smell of water drifted into my nostrils and I sighed as I leaned against a rock near its edge. I could hear the water gently sloshing, that's how I knew how close to it I was. Ash left again and brought me something called a Tiny Mushroom.

"What do I do with this Ash?"

He rubbed up against my arm in answer.

* It smells horrible, so that rules out eating it. *

I let Ash and Mareep run off to find more items after going into an empty building. When I came out the fire type was ready for me. He tugged on my hand and I followed with a chuckle.

(He says the sheep battled a Geodude and won and that they found more items. They collected them for you.)

In the pile they assembled I found 2 Blue shards, a Max revive, and another Rare candy.

"Think we should get going now. We've been here a couple hours ..."

A press of a button on my Pokegear proclaimed the time was 12:30 p. m. I'd left the watch at home.

—- —- —-

Half an hour later found me continuing along Route 32. A guy stopped me and refused to move unless I heard what he had to say. I sighed, but let him talk. After his little tirade he gave me a Miracle seed, an item to be held by a pokemon that would boost the power of grass-type moves it used. I thanked him and kept going.

I gathered a Repel, tm 09 Bullet seed, and a Great ball on the route. There were several trainers as well, which I battled. All five of the pokemon with me were now either level 19 or 20. Ash brought me a Great ball and I smiled at him as he tugged my pant leg.

(He says there is a building with a ball on it he wants to show you.)

—- —- —-

At the Pokemon center (yes there was one on Route 32) I healed everyone and was about to leave when a man came up to me. After talking for a few moments he gave me an Old rod. He said I could use it to catch pokemon with. I put it away and left the 'center.

There was one more thing to do before crossing the bridge (where I'd battled some trainers earlier). Bolt smashed a rock and brought me a unique item. It was a Shell bell, an item that healed a pokemon when they attacked an opponent. It needed to be held by a pokemon in order to work. I put it away and crossed over the bridge to continue traveling. I'd go through my items later and give pokemon new moves and hold items as well.

—- —- —-

The next area was a cave - the map said it was Union cave. I got a weird feeling when I entered, almost as if people were afraid of something.

* What, is there a 'monster' in here? *

There wasn't much to do on the first floor near the entrance, so I descended some stairs to the second floor. There I caught a Zubat and a Sandshrew.

I heard running water down there so I followed the noise and almost fell into a small lake.

* That was close ... *

I took out the Old rod and did some fishing. I captured a Magikarp (useless but had a good evolved form) and a Goldeen. I had no idea what I'd do with the second fish, but it was a water pokemon, which I had very little of.

* Maybe Momo will trade me something for it. *

I ran back to the pokemon center and placed Hoothoot in the pc, switching it with the newly gained Sandshrew. I took a few minutes to feel the pokemon, making sure that I gave off a calming manner. I couldn't actually put thoughts into people's heads like Lyra, or push emotions on people like Empaths could, but when I wanted people to be calm they usually were. Except of course if they were normally hyper-active, up-tight, or perpetually angry. Once I was done I scratched the ground type's ears and sent him back into his ball.

Back in the cave I trained him to level 13 (an improvement from the lv 8 he was when I caught him) and searched for items. I got an X attack, tm 39 Rock tomb, an X defend, a Great ball, and a Potion. Ash wandered off and picked up items for me as I trained Sandshrew (who I'd decided to name Shane). He brought me an X speed, a Great ball, and a Paralyze heal.

There were five trainers to fight in the cave. Shane took care of most of their pokemon, Joker (my Gastly) filling in when he got too beat up. I kept training Shane till he reached level 15 then used the map to locate the exit. There was an Awakening near it (which I stowed) and then left through the exit.

Route 33 was the next area. There weren't any new pokemon, but I finally caught a Rattata. The Pokedex required pokemon be captured in order to fill all the information on them in. It had something to do with the database in the device, and even I hadn't figured out how it worked yet. I trained Shane until he was lv 19 before battling the only trainer on the route. I also knocked some Blu apricorns out of a tree as well.

Shane evolved into Sandslash at lv 22 - which I helped him achieve. He had strong moves now - Swift, Fury swipes, and Rollout to name a few. He looked different after evolving, having gained spines on his back and growing bigger. He also had claws that were longer and sharper than his pre-evolved form. All in all, I was pleased with the progress he'd made.

—- —- —-

As I entered the city I shivered and clutched at my head. There was someone here with a seriously dark motive. My guess was they wanted to kill or hurt someone - or maybe multiple someones.

(There is a man in black attacking a woman.)

"What the ..." I muttered, trying to get a fix on the person.

I started toward where I could feel (and hear) the two people, hoping to either stop the 'man in black' or at least find out who he was.

(He stopped and left the woman there. He is standing in front of a strange-looking building now, glaring at people on the street.)

"Blocking the building ..." I mused, using the map.

* That's Slowpoke well ... *

I shrugged and went to the Pokemon center, Klefki reminding me this was Azalea town as I walked. After healing everyone I put Gastly in the pc and withdrew Hoothoot. I planned to evolve him and possibly Bolt on Route 33. With the low-level wild pokemon it might be a little while before their change in forms.

—- —- —-

By the time I was done training, it was almost 21:45. I now had a Flaafy (the evolved form of Mareep) and a Noctowl (Hoothoot's evolved form). I nicknamed the newly evolved psychic type Radar. The Pokemon center was my destination when I re-entered Azalea town.


	5. Chapter 5

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * chapter IV * * *

\- First Encounter with Rockets, Entering The Spider's Lair, And A Mystery Solved -

Murasaki, Pokemon center (Azalea town) —-

My Pokegear rang as I unlocked the door to my room in the Pokemon center.

* I hope that's not the Professor with another 'quest' for me ... *

I let it ring and pushed the door open, putting my pack down before seeing who'd called.

* Momo, better call her back. *

"Hello,"

"Hey sis, sorry I missed your call, I was ..."

"You don't havta explain 'bro. You're a trainer now, I get it."

Thankfully her tone was neutral. I wasn't sure what I'd do if she was mad at me.

"Yeah ..." I said awkwardly.

"I have news for you 'bro!"

"What is it?" I asked, genuinely interested.

"I bought you something! Do you have any herbs yet?"

"Like what, Energy powder?"

"Yeah."

"I found a Heal powder and an Energy powder in some Ruins hours ago ..."

"Good! You don't have the one I bought yet ... I got you a Revival herb."

If I remembered correctly those revived your pokemon, but made them hate you due to the taste.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah, just trying to remember what that one does."

"Revives your pokemon and makes them dislike you because it tastes bad. Useful though minus that little setback,"

Revival herbs were supposed to be better versions of Revive, but if you asked Momo they were a lot better.

"So how's your journey coming along?"

"Fine all things considered ..."

"What happened Mura? You may as well save yourself the trouble and just tell me."

I chuckled. "Trouble found me again. I was putting together a puzzle in the Ruins of Alph when ..."

"Wait! Did you say the Ruins of Alph?"

"Can I finish?"

"Sorry Mura,"

"It's alright ... I solved the stone puzzle and fell down a hole into another level of the Ruins. I must have hit my head really hard since I don't remember the fall."

"So you have a concussion?"

"Not that I can tell ... the stone started shaking and shattered then ... nothing ..."

"That's horrible Mura."

"That's what happened."

"You're ok though, you weren't seriously injured by the fall were you?"

"No, just had a headache like a mother-fucker for a while ... Momo, why are you interested in the Ruins?"

"Damn, I was tryin' ta hide that,"

We both laughed at that.

"There are supposed to be some very rare pokemon in there ..."

"So it's not because the place's a living relic?"

"Well ... that might have something to do with it too ..."

"Stop Momo, just messin' with ya."

"So what pokemon was in there?"

"Unown."

"Unown? What does that mean?"

"No sis, that's the name of the pokemon, they're ... they look a lot like letters actually."

"Oh! Can you get me one shaped like an m?"

"I caught one just like that earlier."

"What pokemon have you captured so far?" she asked, changing the subject. I was glad for it, I would rather not remember how off and 'creepy' it felt in those Ruins.

"Sentret, Geodude, Spearow, Ledyba, Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, Bellsprout, Hoothoot, Hoppip, Mareep, Wooper, Ekans, Gastly, Unown, Sandshrew, Zubat, Rattata, Magikarp, and Goldeen."

"Are those all the pokemon you have?"

If anyone else was this nosy I'd yell at them, but I knew Momo well enough to know that she just cared.

"I also have the Klefki I told you about before, my starter, and an egg Prof. Elm gave me."

"Have any of your pokemon evolved yet?"

"Cyndaquil to Quilava, Sandshrew to Sandslash, Hoothoot to Noctowl, and Mareep to Flaafy."

"Nice, looks like you'll have a strong team for just about any trainer you come across."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"I wanted to talk to you about that actually ... would you like to trade with me?"

"What are you lookin' for?"

"I've always liked fire and fighting types. You convinced me to catch and train psychic types too ..."

"With Gardevoir?"

"Yeah,"

"I might be persuaded. Is there anything in particular you want?"

"Hmmm ... I'd like a Raltz and a fighting type if you can find one."

I also wanted more fire types, but I was confident I could find those on my own.

"I'll see what I can do."

"What about you? What do you want?"

"I'm trying to collect as many water types as I can - they're my current project at the moment. I'd also like that Rattata you have. I know they're weak, but we don't have them here in Hoenn, or if we do I haven't found one yet."

"Sounds good to me."

"Give me a few minutes to look through what I have and I'll get back to you. Oh, before I forget ... I mailed you a package, the nurse in Azalea should have it for you by now."

"What you send?"

"You'll havta wait and see 'lil bro."

Ten minutes later she called back. I'd gotten the package but hadn't opened it yet.

"Yeah," I said in greeting.

"I found you a Raltz! Thankfully I was near Petalburg city and beat one up for you."

"That's great sis,"

"Did you get the package yet?"

"Yeah, haven't opened it."

"You should, there's something in there that will really help you."

"What else is in there?"

"Just a little surprise I found lying around."

I snorted and opened the box she sent. Inside was something wrapped in a blanket and ... some jewelry?

"Sis, what's with the jewelry?"

"It's not ordinary jewelry. Put it on."

I was surprised by her answer, but put it on anyway. Klefki told me it was made of of black metal with symbols etched into it.

"Well, what do you think? Feel any better?"

* Huh? *

As a matter of fact I did, the buzzing in my head that came with being a psychic dulled to an almost manageable level.

"What are these sis?"

"They're called Dowsers. They ..."

"Dampen psychic powers."

"Yes, I thought you might be having trouble in unfamiliar environments."

"These aren't from dad's company are they?"

"No, they're from another well-known company and I researched them thoroughly before buying those."

I sighed in relief, the last thing I needed was to be walking around with 'property of Lans-corp.' stamped on me. Dad's company made stuff like this, but I never trusted their products. Who knew what kind of 'extra' shit they might add.

"So you'll wear them then?"

"Definitely,"

"They are supposed to help with control too, I sent the manual as well and made sure to read it thoroughly first."

"Thanks sis,"

A few minutes later I was in the 'center's lobby, placing Goldeen's poke ball in the trading machine. I pressed the 'transfer' button and the ball was sucked away. A minute or two later a different ball replaced the one I'd sent. I picked it up, smiling as I felt the stenciling Momo liked to put on all her poke balls. This one was of a wave of energy. I put Flaafy in the pc in order to train the new psychic-type.

Silver, the same night (outskirts of Azalea town) —-

I'd been training in Ilex forest (an area just beyond Azalea town) for the better part of an hour. I managed to evolve Kakuna into Beeddrill, Spearow into Fearow, and Mareep into Flaafy. The Sandshrew I'd caught in Union cave was coming along nicely as well. She was level 19 at the moment.

I walked inside the Pokemon center and healed everyone. I had a few more I could train, but since it was getting late I decided to worry about them later.

When I went outside I smiled slightly, planning to wander around the town. It was nighttime (one of my favorite times of day). When I got to the middle of town my eyes landed on a figure that looked slightly familiar. I flattened myself against a building, putting a finger over my lips to signal for Sneasel to be quiet. As I watched, the figure paced around, dressed in some sort of black outfit.

At first I thought it might be Murasaki, but there was no Quilava following the person. After observing for a while I finally figured out why the person, or rather their clothing, seemed so familiar.

* That's a Team R uniform. *

And indeed it was, the red r standing proudly against the black background of the shirt.

* Shit I better get back to the Pokemon center before that guy recognizes me. *

—- —- —-

In my room I made a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kimi it's Silver."

"Wondered when you'd call Bob, let me get somewhere safe."

That was our code for 'not in a safe area.'

A few moments later she spoke.

"So where are you anyway?"

"Do you really want me to tell you?"

"Ok ok, don't tell me. If they find me out it's better I don't know."

* My point exactly. *

"Have you found anything in Proton's office that gives any leads on what Team R's doing?" I asked, hoping the answer was yes.

She sighed. "No unfortunately. He's been in his office so much the last few days I haven't gotten the chance to look through his files."

I bit my lip.

"Has anyone mentioned a mission in Azalea town?"

"Yes ... Proton was telling some grunts to 'be ready' whatever that means. Azalea was mentioned in regards to that."

I shook my head.

* Why do I always have bad luck with Team R? *

"Is that all you needed to know?"

"For now. Think you can check Proton's files while he's gone?"

"Hmmm ... he left in a truck a few minutes ago ... I'll try."

"Good," I said before hanging up.

Murasaki, the next morning (leaving Azalea Pokemon center) —-

I released Raltz (whom I'd nicknamed Blitz) as I left the Pokemon center.

(He wants you to carry him.)

I smiled slightly and picked the psychic type up from the ground, cradling him in my arms. He was level 4 so I would need to train him a lot so he could catch up with the others level-wise.

Footsteps made a hasty retreat as I ran a hand through Blitz' short hair.

(Ash ran off again.)

* Hope he doesn't get into trouble. *

He was a lot more aggressive now that he had evolved and I was worried about him getting into fights with other pokemon. So far, this hadn't happened yet.

I didn't have to wait long for the fire type to return. He nudged my leg. I wrapped an arm around the pokemon I was holding and held out my free hand for whatever he'd found. It turned out to be a Full heal.

"Thanks Ash,"

Klefki informed me of an apricorn tree in town and I made my way over, picking up the wht apricorn that fell from the tree.

Before leaving the pokemon center I'd stopped at the pc to change my party. Raltz was added and the rest of the team inspected for possible training opportunities. I kept Quilava and Klefki, switching Flaafy with Spearow. Sandslash also was kept in my party. Spearow was level 19 so evolving it shouldn't take too long. He was supposed to evolve at level 23.

I checked the map of Azalea, deciding to go and see a man named Kurt. It was rumored he made custom poke balls out of apricorns. One of the trainers in the 'center was talking about it, but I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not. She was way too happy, something which I normally questioned - Momo being the only exception seeing as I knew her so well.

When I arrived at his house I knocked on the front door.

"Oh hi," a girl's voice said.

* Why's there a girl here? I thought this was Kurt's house ... *

I asked that out loud:

"Doesn't Kurt live here?"

"Yeah he does, I'm his granddaughter by the way,"

* Like I really care all that much ... *

"Come on in," she finally said after a few minutes of silence. I had no idea what to say to her, so just walked inside.

I have this problem around people. When I don't know them (or am unfamiliar with their particular traits like smell, sound of voice, and how their emotions normally feel) I don't know how to act. It's not that I'm afraid or anything, I just feel extremely awkward. I was ok with the people of New bark because it was such a small town and everyone knew everyone. I especially liked the professor, (except when he sent me on errands that got me into trouble) having done some research for him before via field work.

"You ok kid?" a man's voice asked.

"Sorry, just thinking about stuff,"

"So what did you want with me?"

"You're Kurt then?" I asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yeah,"

We chatted for a few minutes, the granddaughter adding something to the conversation here and there. Kurt told me about his custom poke balls mostly. Eventually he became agitated, something which got me interested immediately.

* What's up with him? *

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Yeah ... there's a guy standing in front of the Slowpoke well, he's from Team rocket."

* Who's that? *

"Team rocket?"

"They're a group that does bad things here in Johto," the granddaughter explained. I would have raised an eyebrow at the phrasing, but having been around her for a while I knew she was just really young, not ignorant. If I had to guess I'd say she was probably seven or eight.

"So, if they make you so angry why don't you do something about it?" I inquired.

"I asked him that already," the girl said.

"This time I will! I can't let them hurt people in Azalea town,"

I chuckled darkly.

"I hate to tell ya this, but a member beat up a woman here just last night." I informed him.

His emotions went from agitated to rage in a few seconds flat. He left the house, presumably to 'do' something about Team rocket. His granddaughter thanked me and I left as well.

* Better follow him, people angry like that don't usually do so well. The anger clouds their judgement and they tend to make mistakes. *

I wasn't exempt from this, but when I was around a person for long enough (usually a few minutes as long as I was physically close to them) I could feel their emotions. I'd felt it before people did stuff like this in the past, and it almost never went well.

—- —- —-

I used the map to make sure I knew where I was going. Klefki had told me about the woman being attacked and I looked up where the man went the night before, but it was late and I could have missed or forgotten something. I was surprised to feel a stagnant "bubble" of air as I approached the well entrance. This usually meant there was no one around.

* The guy who was guarding the entrance must have gone off somewhere. Maybe he's inside ... *

I went in myself, gritting my teeth at the sudden downward slope to the floor.

There were four species of pokemon in the well. They were Zubat, Slowpoke, Goldeen, and Magikarp. I ignored the Zubat, Magikarp, and Goldeen, catching two Slowpoke. One I would keep for myself, holding on to the other for a trade with Momo later. I'd get a Magikarp at some point for her too.

Once I'd caught what I wanted I put Blitz on the ground. I pulled out tm 27 (Return) and taught it to him. Momo sent me a message on my Pokegear earlier that morning, telling me what moves the psychic type knew.

* Growl and Ice punch ... *

Growl was normal for a Raltz at his level, but Ice punch was a move almost no psychic type could learn. It was a fighting type move, but from my studies I knew other pokemon types could learn it such as Elekid (an electric type). The message let me know she'd gone to the move tutor in Hoenn and had Ice punch taught to him.

* I'll havta remember to thank her later. *

With Return and Ice punch training him wasn't so hard. He knocked out a few Zubat before I was challenged to a battle. The challenger was a guy dressed the same as the one from last night. Klefki told me his outfit consisted of black pants, a long-sleeved black shirt with a large r on it, and white boots. After battling him I kept going.

There were two more Rocket members (a male and female) and I figured they were grunts of some sort. I mean this in the sense that their pokemon were so weak that either all of Team rocket was weak, or they were just low-level agents - thus the term 'grunt.' Blitz beat up wild Slowpoke and Zubat in between battles, reaching level thirteen pretty quickly. He now knew Ice punch, Return, Confusion, and Teleport. He was a little tired out, so I went back to the Pokemon center to heal him.

—- —- —-

The egg Elm gave me started shaking a little after Raltz hit level 13. I had no idea how long it normally took for an egg to hatch, so wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. For that matter, I didn't even know how eggs behaved (I use this word loosely) when they were about to hatch. I did start getting a feeling from the thing though: happiness.

* That's ... odd ... *

I re-entered the well and retraced my steps, following the path. I collected a few items on the way there, finding a Super potion and getting one from Ash. He'd found the thing when he ran into a rock. I theorized that he could smell items somehow, maybe each one had a unique scent he knew of. I was oblivious to this even though my senses were all much better than a regular human's. That's not to say I wasn't human, just that I had ... certain advantages others didn't.

Klefki told me he'd seen glimpses of a man with green hair watching as I battled the Rocket members. I wasn't sure what to make of this so just brushed it off. I leveled Raltz up to lv 18 before moving farther into the well. I also gave him the Choice band, thinking it would help level him faster.

* If there is someone I haven't battled here I hope they show themselves soon, I don't have all day to wait. *

—- —- —-

It turned out the green haired man did want to battle me. He had quite a lot to say first though.

"What do we have here? I am often labeled as the scariest and cruelest guy in Team rocket ... I strongly urge you not to interfere with our business!"

I shrugged, not feeling anything from him yet.

* Need more time if I really care to know his emotional state. *

He sent out a Zubat first.

"You're up Blitz," I said as I pushed him forward gently with my foot.

"Leech life!"

I winced inwardly as Raltz whimpered from the attack.

* That drains hp. If I'm not careful, it could do a lot of damage. *

Thankfully for us it only took a little at a time.

"Confusion,"

"Fly to the right,"

I smirked, having a way around that.

"Teleport and then Confusion."

I listened carefully to the attacks, trying to pinpoint the exact moment he should strike.

"Now," I instructed a few seconds after the soft 'chime' sound of Teleport was heard farther away from me. The Zubat seemed surprised, letting out a horrible shriek as it was hit. A few more Confusion attacks later and the bat was down for the count.

He sent out a Koffing next.

"It doesn't matter where we go, there's always someone that doesn't agree with us ..."

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair.

"Will you just shut up?"

"No," he said, a smirk in his voice.

* Well damn, I was hoping he'd be so surprised he'd listen ... *

"Can you keep going Blitz?"

(He says he's fine to take out this ... 'gas ball' ... his words not mine.)

I ruffled Raltz' hair and he stepped in front of me to take on his opponent.

"Poison gas,"

* Shit ... *

"Dodge and use Ice punch,"

The ice formed in his small hands (a sound like icicles clicking together to my ears) and he landed a solid blow. I guessed the 'gas ball' pokemon was floating close enough to the ground for him to hit. Maybe he had to jump to do so.

* Koffing can do major damage if they poison their victims ... I better not let that happen. *

"Smog,"

* Not another poison-inducing attack ... *

Unlike Poison gas, this one did damage as well as possibly poisoning the target.

"Dodge with Teleport and give it your Confusion,"

It took a few rounds of dodging and landing hits with Confusion, but the Koffing was finally almost ready to quit.

"Are you serious? Did you come here thinking you could mess with our plans?" Proton said.

* Just shut the fuck up ... *

"Finish this with Ice punch,"

"Float out of the way,"

"Use Teleport to chase it."

(Why do that?)

"You'll see," I muttered.

Doing that seemed to thoroughly confuse both pokemon and trainer. Every time the poison type would float to get away from Blitz he disappeared and reappeared next to it.

* Nice. *

(What is the point of this?)

I chose not to answer.

"Wrap things up with Return. Shoot the attack into the air." I told Raltz.

The heart-shaped projectiles Return created struck their target hard. The pokemon hit the ground so hard it made a muted thud. Since it was made of gas this was actually pretty impressive.

"Grr ... for a kid to be this good ... I didn't see it coming."

* He better shut up now. *

Blitz' feelings grew clouded and then disappeared altogether once the battle was over.

* W-what's going on? *

This had never happened before. A noise like ... sparkles (a ring-tone Momo had on her phone) was all I heard for a few minutes.

* I hope he's alright ... *

Eventually I felt his emotions, those of pride and something I had trouble putting words to. The best adjective I could come up with was 'powerful.'

(He looks different now, I think he just evolved.)

I brought the Pokedex out of my pocket where I usually kept it and pointed it in Blitz' direction. When nothing happened I took a few steps closer, the machine beeping a few times before saying:

"Kirlia the emotion pokemon. Kirlia is the evolved form of Raltz."

I wasn't supposed to have any information on pokemon from regions other than Johto at the moment, but I'd tweaked the programming to at least identify pokemon from other regions.

"Humph ... Team rocket was indeed broken up three years ago. But we continued our activities underground. A small obstacle like you won't be much of a problem for our mission. I advise you to be very afraid of what is to come!" Proton said before leaving.

* A little late for talking isn't it? Shouldn't you have said that right after the battle ended? *

I figured he had been watching Blitz' evolution, but wouldn't admit to it if anyone mentioned this later.

I followed the path back to the entrance of the well after that, Klefki commenting on the fact that all the Rocket members were gone.

* Must have left when I wasn't lookin' ... *

I snorted to myself and stopped, locating Blitz by his emotions and putting a hand on what I thought was his shoulder. It was.

"You did really well back there Blitz, I'm proud of you."

(He says thank you.)

Murasaki, at Kurt's house (Azalea town) —-

"I would like to give you something for helping out back there," Kurt said as we both entered his house.

* I did all the work old man, you just stayed at the entrance ... *

"Like what?" I asked.

"A sample of what I can make. Don't worry - the poke ball does work."

He had me stay in the main room (or what I thought was the main room) while he went off to find the ball he'd mentioned.

"How'd it go?" his granddaughter (who's name I still didn't know) asked.

I shrugged. "He wasn't feelin' well, so I battled the Team rocket members there. They left after that."

* Why are you so nosy? *

Maybe she actually wasn't, but since I still didn't know her well, it felt like that to me.

Thankfully Kurt came back before she could say anything else - Arceus forbid she have to wait to find out details from either of us.

"Here you go: this is a Fast ball."

He put the ball in my hand and I ran my fingers over it.

(Blitz likes the color.)

* He would. *

The Raltz-turned-Kirlia was fascinated by colors. It might be because he was a shiny pokemon - blue instead of the usual white Raltz and their evolutions were.

"What does it do?"

The balls were customized, they must be special in some way.

"It has a times 4 catch rate for pokemon that can run away from battles."

* Okaaay doesn't tell me much. *

"What do you mean?"

"Well ... if a pokemon knows Teleport they can 'escape' or 'run' from battle. I've heard that the legendary dog pokemon can run as well."

* Legendary dog pokemon? *

"Legendary dog pokemon?"

"Entei Raikou and Suicune! You've never heard of them before? ..." Kurt's granddaughter gushed. There was more, but I tuned her out.

* I'll have to look into these 'legendary' pokemon. *

It wasn't that I wanted to catch them for myself, but there was likely a history behind each one, history having been one of my favorite things to study while at the trainer's schools. I was still interested in it now.

Kurt asked if I wanted him to make any poke balls for me after the girl was done chattering away.

"Sure,"

I spent a few minutes inspecting the Apricorn box (with Klefki's help) to see which apricorns I had.

"How about this one," I said, holding up the only grn apricorn I had.

"That will make a Friend ball. It makes pokemon happier faster." Kurt said as he took it from me.

"It will take me a day to make the ball for you."

Before I left the granddaughter (who's name was finally revealed to be Maisy) asked me if I wanted Kurt's number. I agreed, typing it into the Pokegear.

—- —- —-

In the 'center I healed Blitz and started up the pc.

* Hmmm ... I have Quilava, Klefki, Kirlia, Spearow, Sandslash and the egg in my party ... *

After thinking about it for a few moments I decided that was the team I'd take to the gym. The egg started shaking again as I left the building.

* Wonder if it will hatch soon ... *

I took some time to train and evolve Spearow. The well and Route 33 were the areas I trained him at. After reaching level 23 he evolved into Fearow. Since flying types had an advantage over bug types he would be a great asset in the gym battle.

Murasaki, gym (Azalea town) —-

The egg shook once more when I came into the gym. The movements were so violent I was tempted to take it out and make sure it hadn't been damaged. I pushed the impulse down and continued on.

Blitz decided to ride in his poke ball when we walked in, so Ash was the only pokemon following me around now. And of course Klefki was riding around my neck.

There were four trainers to fight in the gym. Since they were weaker, Ash and Klefki battled most of the trainers' pokemon. One of the battles was odd though, I never knew you could battle two people at once. It worked like this: two of mine versus one each of theirs. Kirlia and Fearow took on the task of this new type of battle. After defeating all the trainers I went back to the 'center to heal then returned to fight Bugsy.

—- —- —-

I weighed my options before choosing who would fight in the battle. One of the trainers said Bugsy had three pokemon, so I chose Blitz, Klefki, and Quilava to fight in the battle. Klefki and Quilava were lower leveled than the rest, so I wanted them to gain experience from the battle. Kirlia was lv 21 while Sandslash and Fearow were levels 22 and 23 respectively. Quilava was lv 21 and Klefki was lv 20 since he hadn't felt like battling as much lately. I thought about using Fearow, but decided against it last minute.

"Murasaki of New bark will fight Bugsy our leader, begin!" the referee said.

I smirked, plucking Blitz' ball from my belt.

* Ice punch should be a nice surprise for him to deal with ... *

"Go Scyther!"

"Go Kirlia!"

"Confusion,"

"Quick attack!"

"Dodge ..."

(It's too fast ...)

Even as I tried to help Blitz was crashed into. I cringed at the sound of bodies colliding and thought for a moment.

* There has to be something I can do. Its Quick attack is even faster than usual ... *

A full-blown smirk slid onto my face as I put together a plan.

"Use Confusion again Blitz, Teleport as well,"

This was a subtle hint to do a barrage of Confusion attacks with Teleport in between. It was a combination I'd worked on with him earlier that day.

* Might have to teach everyone stuff like this. It worked with Blitz and Skip, so why not everyone? *

Skip's barrage had only contained Water gun though, something I would have to add to when teaching the others.

Ten minutes later the pair were still at it. The combination I'd ordered Blitz to do was definitely angering the bug type, I could hear furious cries of "scyther!" every thirty seconds or so. The few times Confusion met their mark I could tell because the bug was finally silent and Kirlia took a few steps before teleporting away. I'd grown so used to the sounds the attacks of my pokemon made Klefki hardly had to explain what was going on to me anymore.

I chuckled as I heard an annoyed grunt from my opponent.

"What's the point of this? Neither of them are doing much damage." he asked.

I shrugged. "You're bored? We can finish this round now if you want."

There was no reply from the other male.

I sighed and subconsciously wrapped a hand around Klefki's key ring.

"Let's help them out with their boredom Blitz! Ice punch,"

The dynamic of the battle changed then, the bug obviously getting very tired. The point of the barrage-run tactic had been to tire it out after all. Sure Blitz was using up energy by teleporting, but his was of the mental capacity. With as much running and flying around as Scyther had been doing it was a miracle the bug had enough energy to stand, let alone fight.

"Dodge by flying,"

"Teleport and then use Ice punch,"

All was quiet for a moment, the only noise the buzzing of the bug's wings as it took to the air. I could sense that Kirlia was calculating the best place to teleport.

* The bug won't know what hit it. *

Seconds passed with no activity and then the bug hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Scyther is unable to battle. Bring out your next pokemon leader," said the referee.

"Go Kakuna!"

I recalled Blitz after stroking both his horns affectionately.

"Klefki you're up,"

I removed the chain from around my neck and undid the clasp, placing the key-ring pokemon gently on the floor.

A snort came from Bugsy.

"You're kidding me. You aren't seriously going to fight me with a set of keys are you?"

* Must everyone ask things like that? Can't they just take what they see at face-value? Oh right, sight can blind more effectively than being blind sometimes ... *

"Yes," I said simply.

"Iron defense,"

"Harden,"

* If we both keep this up nothing is ever going to happen ... *

I took the initiative.

"Return,"

I'd taught him the move earlier that day when Blitz learned it.

* Please do decent damage ... *

"Harden," Bugsy ordered with a smirk in his voice.

* He's really enjoying this isn't he? *

Unfortunately for me the attack didn't do much at all.

(Need something stronger ...)

"Fairy wind, Return,"

I hoped he'd get an idea of what I was trying to do with that; hit it so fast it couldn't raise its defense higher in time. He'd watched Blitz' fight, so he'd seen something similar to the idea at least.

Thankfully he did, both attacks making a crash-crunch noise as they hit.

* Take that! *

"Poison sting,"

* Are you really that stupid? It won't do much ... *

That wasn't just me boasting either, steel types had a strong resistance toward poison type moves. I hadn't tested it, but it wouldn't surprise me if Toxic didn't affect him at all.

The little needles hit Klefki's metal body and bounced off harmlessly. I heard the sounds and the key pokemon confirmed it for me.

(That was rather ...)

"Stupid?" I asked.

(Yes, though I would rather find a more ... eloquent way of saying so.)

"Not now,"

"Who are you talking to?" Bugsy asked.

I shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Silence.

"Finish up with Astonish, Fairy wind,"

"Harden,"

The defense-raising move did nothing to help the bug. Together, both moves did 70 points of damage, something most would have trouble with. Or at least, most second-stage bug evolutions that had a third would.

The bug fell over and Klefki jangled loudly.

(I won!)

I grimaced at the noise. I picked up the pokemon, slid him back onto the chain, and put it back on.

"I know you're excited, but could you keep the jingling and jangling down please, it hurts my ears,"

"Kakuna has been knocked out, send out your last pokemon leader," the referee said.

"I can't believe you got this far ... Finish them off Metapod!"

* Another cocoon pokemon? *

"Ash your turn!"

"Ash?" asked Bugsy.

"Quilava," I said. My tone had a barely-just-there mocking quality to it. I was so tired of people asking me questions ...

I snorted.

"This will be over fast ... Quick attack Howl then Ember,"

"Harden as many times as you can while he isn't attacking,"

* You're so done ... *

It didn't take long for Metapod to faint. All Ash really had to do was hit it a few times. I only had to tell him to use Ember one more time before a crash was heard followed by a deafening silence (deafening to me anyway).

"That was the strangest battle I've ever participated in," Bugsy remarked as the laser-sound of him recalling his pokemon met my ears.

"How so?"

"Nobody's ever thought of using attacks over and over on Scyther like that, I've never faced anyone who fought with a set of keys, and no one's ever defeated Metapod so fast."

* Wonder if he figured out why I had Blitz do that barrage-combo yet? *

"You never said ... Why did your Kirlia use its moves like that?"

I smirked, but said nothing.

He sighed. "Not going to tell me are you?"

"Nope,"

"These are yours now." he said, putting a small metal object and a disc into my hands.

I also received the money for winning from him, 1800 - 900 going to Momo.

"The badge from here is called the Hive badge. That tm is 89 U-turn. The pokemon that learns this move will attack first, then switch out with a random pokemon in your party."

"If it can do that, why didn't you use it in the battle?" I asked curiously.

"Didn't feel like it. Sometimes I use it to scare big-shot trainers, but you don't seem to be one of those."

I shrugged. "I am good, but I put the effort in to get that way."

"That's what I figured,"

—- —- —-

The egg shook even more violently immediately after I left the gym. It got so bad I had to remove the egg from the pack, worried it would damage some items - or worse get damaged being in there with the items. I shucked off the pack and untied it, pulling out the clothes-wrapped egg and holding it in my hands. The sound of Klefki's voice drifted to my ears (telling me there was a bench nearby to sit on) seemed very faint compared to the still-shaking egg in my hands.

I sat down and unwrapped it, feeling the surface for cracks and damage. The shaking went on for at least five minutes, the egg eventually rocking gently back and forth where I'd placed it in my lap. I traced the lines of cracks in fascination as they begun to appear, more and more coming as the minutes went by. Eventually a loud cracking noise could be heard as cracks the length of most of the egg came into existance, the surface getting slightly sticky.

I pulled my hands back as the egg cracked open. I knew because Klefki told me. Whatever was inside shook itself, scattering shell fragments all over my lap as it tried to get rid of the pieces still clinging to it. Again, this information was the courtesy of Klefki.

I reached out a hand, careful to avoid the sharpest shards, (with Klefki's guidance) picking up the pokemon and brushing off what pieces I could. What wouldn't come off I shoved my finger nails under and gently peeled away. When I was finished cleaning the pokemon the best I could a sound finally came from it.

"Togee prii!"

"What's that?" I asked no one in particular.

(Never heard of a pokemon called Togee prii before myself ...)

I huffed, taking out the Pokedex from my pocket to scan it.

"Unknown ..." was all the device could tell me.

"Wonderful ..."

The (still unnamed) baby pokemon jumped up and down as I lay it in the crook of my arm.

* It is cute, but I have no idea what it is ... *

A few minutes later the baby yawned cutely and fell asleep against me.

"Think I'll call you Troy,"


	6. Chapter 6

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * chapter V * * *

\- Rival Encounter Two, Ilex Forest, And Some News -

Murasaki, same day egg hatched, 18:05 Pokemon center (Azalea town) —-

I healed everyone, thinking about the pokemon I had.

* Might be a good idea to grab a few of the ones I haven't evolved yet and train them ... *

After some contemplation I decided I'd train and evolve more pokemon when I got to the next town. Checking the map I found out that was Goldenrod. I also looked through my items, realizing I was low on poke balls. The last thing I did before leaving was switch Fearow with Gastly.

I went to the Pokemart next, going up to the counter and pulling out several items I wanted to sell. I sold 1 Tiny mushroom, 1 X attack, 1 X defend, 1 X speed, 6 Potions, and 1 Paralyze heal. The lady behind the counter took the items (the sound of them moving across the counter let me know) and handed me some money. I stepped back from the counter so I wasn't in the way and had Klefki help me count the money.

It was faster that way. In total there was 1950. I also had some from before.

I went back to the counter and bought 8 poke balls. Since I had a lot of other items I didn't need anything else from here. I put everything away and then left the shop. It was time to go onward.

Silver, 18:30, same day (near Ilex forest) —-

I'd battled Bugsy the day before, bringing my badges to two. My current team was Sneasel, Croconaw, Flaafy, and Noctowl. Two were lv 20 - Noctowl was lv 23 - Croconaw was lv 18. The female psychic-bird had evolved recently, but was pretty strong.

This surprised me, I wasn't expecting much from her. In my experience psychic dual-types were pretty weak - some Team R members had them. I personally thought that was a big mistake. I certainly wasn't going to get a Zubat and evolve it into Golbat just because the thing looked cool. And yes, that had been an answer I got from a grunt once.

I'd been exploring what part of the forest I could, ignoring training for a while. As I re-entered the city, I spotted a familiar trainer. I groaned inwardly as I felt my heart beat speed up at his appearance.

* This is pathetic ... *

If anything though, he did get my blood pumping, something which no one else could manage.

* And he doesn't even know he's doing it. *

—- —- —-

I smirked as I grabbed a poke ball from my belt.

"Go! Croconaw!"

The blue pokemon appeared, standing in front of me.

I watched as Murasaki pulled the chain from his neck, wondering what the hell he was doing. There appeared to be a set of keys on the chain.

* The key-pokemon again? *

The other boy smirked, sliding the key-ring off of the chain. I knew from experience that the key ring and the keys attached to it were actually a pokemon. A steel-type if the other boy could be believed.

"Your turn Klefki,"

He dropped the keys to the ground where they jangled loudly. We both winced.

* This is going to be interesting ... *

"Iron defense,"

"Bite!"

Croconaw ran toward the keys, jaws open and ready to deliver a vicious bite. Unfortunately it didn't do all that much.

* What's wrong? That should have ... oh right ... steel-type. *

"Return then Fairy wind,"

"Let it hit you,"

"Uhhh ..." was all the other boy said to that.

"Confused? Good," I replied, watching the fight out of the corner of my eyes.

Like instructed, the water type was just standing there, letting himself get beat up.

"Rage,"

"Return,"

"Let it hit you then Rage again,"

The heart-projectiles hit right before Croconaw crashed into the keys. The second attack was much stronger than the previous one.

* I need to do something better. The attacks are doing damage, but they aren't doing as much as I'd like ... *

"Astonish,"

"Dodge,"

"Astonish barrage,"

"Dodge and use Water gun!"

The keys were putting up a decent fight. I'll give Murasaki this: even with a strange pokemon he could put up quite the fight. But since I had a water pokemon against a steel one, he would lose. After several dodges and near-misses from the keys, the water attack finally knocked the Klefki out.

"What ..." Murasaki said.

There was a shocked expression on his face. It almost seemed like he'd never lost, and wasn't sure what to do.

"I'll stay with Croconaw,"

He nodded distractedly, plucking a ball from his belt. The chain went back around his neck, the key-pokemon sucked into a poke ball.

"Go! Gastly!"

* This could get ugly real fast. I have one of those and know what they're capable of. *

"Hypnosis,"

"Dodge,"

That move had a very low accuracy rate, something I was grateful for now. I was pretty sure Croconaw could survive this round, but if he were put to sleep, I'd have a hard time waking him since he was already somewhat tired from the last round.

"Hypnosis again,"

The boy pulled out an item and used it, a light green glow surrounding the gas-pokemon for a moment.

* I hope that doesn't make things difficult. *

As it turned out that was exactly what it did. Croconaw couldn't even dodge this time, it was almost as if he'd used Lock-on (a move that ensured a hit on the next turn). The water type fell to the ground asleep within a few seconds of being hit by the attack.

* Shit ... what do I do?! *

"Night shade,"

I tried nudging the sleeping pokemon but nothing happened.

* You did well at least Croconaw. *

The attack struck its target right after I moved out of the way, knocking Croconaw out.

I smiled slightly as I recalled my starter.

"Glad you got back in the game. Was worried there when you lost and were devastated."

He shrugged. "Never lost before," was all he said as he withdrew Gastly.

* It can be quite the experience ... I take losses and learn from them, hope you do the same. *

"Go! Flaafy!"

"Go! Blitz!"

* Blitz? *

Apparently 'blitz' was a Kirlia. I'd seen one on tv once. It was a psychic type I think.

* Hmmm ... you're full of surprises. *

"Return,"

"Thunder wave!"

The projectiles did strike at Flaafy's face, but not before lines of blue electricity slammed into the other pokemon. The attack wasn't very powerful, but then again it didn't need to be. It was supposed to paralyze, not knock out an opponent.

* Let's see you get out of this one ... *

"Come over here,"

The blue hued pokemon (which I thought was odd since Kirlia were supposed to be white) came over to their trainer. Instead of ordering another attack, I was unable to take my eyes off the other boy. He pulled out another item, spraying something onto the pokemon.

* I hope that's not what I think it is. *

If I was right, that would be either a Full heal or a Paralyze heal, either one able to undo the work I'd just done.

He smiled (rubbing the pokemon's shoulder) before the oddly colored Kirlia turned to face Flaafy once more.

"Nice trick, but I have some of my own."

At first he just stood there, (which would have been a great time for me to attack) but I still couldn't take my eyes off him. He ran a hand through his white-purple hair, the tresses looking smooth and recently washed. I really wanted to run my hands through it ... kiss him roughly, while I pressed him against a wall ... tangle my hands through that hair as I assaulted that mouth ...

The sound of Murasaki's voice brought me out of my day dreams.

"Confusion and Teleport,"

I thought his pokemon would execute the attacks then wait for further commands, but this wasn't the case. Somehow his Kirlia was using Teleport and Confusion in tandem, shooting off the first, disappearing, reappearing, then shooting off the first again. It was actually rather distracting, something I needed more time to formulate a plan to counter.

I forced myself to watch the battle and not the boy, but it was harder than I thought it would be.

* The dreams I had last night and the night before that are sooo not helping ... *

I'd dreamt of him, touching, kissing, seeing and hearing him writhe in pleasure ...

* Get it together! *

"Every time it reappears hit it with Thunder shock. Ready the electricity and re-charge it after every sighting,"

That really was the best I could do with no more time to plan.

* Hope this works ... *

Things were not in my favor. Flaafy was able to get in only two attacks, so baffled by the turn of events as she was. I tried having her use Tackle as well, but the results were even worse. She couldn't get close enough with those attacks working like that ...

* That's it! It's a combo. Bet he taught it to his pokemon during training, trying to find a good use for Teleport. *

He rolled his eyes at me as the fight continued. I glanced down at my watch at some point, shocked to find that just this round had gone on for ten minutes.

* What's his game with that combo? *

"Bored yet?" he asked with a smirk.

I snorted rudely.

"Should I be?"

His smirk turned wicked.

"The last person who saw this did,"

He sighed, tapping one of the bracelets on his wrists with fingers from the opposite hand.

* When did he get those? *

They really suited him, the black metal adding to his get-up rather than making it glaringly 'wrong' like I'd seen some additions do before.

"Let's wrap this up. Ice punch Blitz,"

I was thoroughly confused now.

* It's a psychic type, how can it use that? *

He shrugged, his eyes going vacant. I wasn't sure if he was thinking or focusing on something I couldn't comprehend.

* Maybe he's blind, I haven't seen him look at the pokemon or me this whole time. Come to think of it he didn't the first battle either ... *

When the Ice punch hit there was a loud sound, the forming of ice, then the slamming of an icy fist into Flaafy's stomach ...

I blinked several times, not sure I'd actually witnessed that.

Murasaki p. o. v. (in between rounds 3 and 4) —-

"Did your Kirlia just ..." I heard him say as I walked over to the psychic type and squeezed his shoulder in thanks.

I chuckled, gently running my fingers through the horned pokemon's hair. He liked to keep it down, preferring that over the pig-tailed style most Kirlia wore.

"What you saw did happen. I've got a sister in Hoenn who had the move taught to him by a Move tutor there,"

* Hope he believes me ... *

The silence made me think otherwise.

"Is there any reason for me to lie to you Silver? What benefit would I get from doing so?"

I wasn't sure why, but I had the feeling this would help. He struck me as someone who thought things through a lot more than I did. Plus, the feelings I got from him (even wearing the Dowsers) were ... calm, steady. I know those aren't exactly 'feelings' but that's the best way I can describe it.

Some shuffling around then silence.

"You have a point. You're not going to tell your sister about this are you?"

"Only that I battled you if she asks,"

After thinking a moment I added.

"If that makes you feel better I mean."

He laughed softly, the sound making me smile a little.

"Why do you care? You don't even know me."

Instead of accusatory or angry his response was merely ... curious? I concentrated, trying to use my powers to clarify what information my regular senses were giving me, but the power didn't come easily like it usually did. I usually just got surface emotions and an insight to one's overall personality with my powers, now I was looking deeper.

* Uhm ... what the fuck? Oh right, the Dowsers, must havta work harder to do anything now ... *

After a few minutes (in which neither of us spoke) I was able to brush my virtual psychometric fingers along his body.

* Genuine curiosity ... one-track mind ... focused on only me ... turmoil over the loss ... Wait! Did I just 'feel' interest in me? *

It was the interest a boy with a crush had for a girl he liked, but not exactly. It was more ... innocent in a way, but also not naive. Translating this mess into plain ol' English would read like this: He is interested in me, but he's unsure about how he feels about me or being gay or bi or whatever he is.

* Talk about confusing ... *

Finally I spoke up.

"You're an interesting person ... I also see that you kept up your end of the bargain."

"Sure did. Was there ever any doubt?"

"Only because I don't know you very well," I replied, wondering why he sounded like he'd have gotten offended if I outright said 'I do not trust you.'

"Let's keep going," he suggested.

I nodded, returning Blitz to his ball.

"Let's dazzle him. You're up Shane!"

The mouse chattered excitedly, running around me a few times before coming to a stop next to me.

"Uhhh ... Noctowl it's your go!"

* Don't blame you. He's a ball of energy now that he's evolved. *

"Swift,"

"Fly upward to dodge, keep dodging till they all pass,"

He was referring to the fact that Swift had multiple star-shaped rays that attacked the foe.

* Good luck with that. I specifically trained with him to make this attack faster and it already can't miss easily. *

There was a very small chance the bird could dodge any of the star-rays, let alone all of them.

Every time a ray hit the bird its wings flapped erratically, which I figured meant it had to re-correct its flight pattern. I would have asked Klefki to be sure, but he was knocked out from his earlier fight.

"Swift again,"

This time the bird was unable to dodge any of the rays, landing on the ground heavily afterward.

"You still able to keep going?" Silver asked his pokemon.

It hooted in agreement.

"Get up and fly then," he instructed.

The bird took flight once more.

"Dive down and use Hypnosis," was his next command.

I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Gettin' revenge for earlier Silver? We won't let that happen will we Shane? Dodge,"

He ran away from the dive bombing noctowl, evading the attack completely. I heard rushing air as the bird flew upward.

"Peck,"

* Won't save you ... *

"Rock tomb,"

The rocks trapped the avian, I could hear it screech angrily as it tried to get away. Rock tomb the way I'd trained with Shane was a cage that held its target, lowering its defense when the pokemon became trapped inside. It was something a clever trainer could navigate their pokemon out of (or get them out by destroying the rocks).

Silver did the latter.

"Stop screeching for a moment, I'm getting you out of there,"

This got the avian to shut up quick.

"Use Confusion on the rocks,"

* Might work ... it should know Uproar. At the right frequency that would shatter them. *

A few minutes later I heard flapping overhead and knew the bird was free.

"Land on the ground and use Hypnosis,"

I smirked, deciding to use a maneuver I'd had Shane practice with recently.

"Curl into a ball and roll out of the way,"

"What kind of move is that?" asked the other boy.

I shrugged. "Not one,"

"Spin into a Rollout attack," I ordered after I heard him rolling around for a bit. The rolling became more vigorous, the attack requiring for him to spin very fast to gain the necessary speed and power.

"Fly up to avoid it,"

* Not gettin' away that easily ... *

I pulled out my Pokegear, bringing up the map. After consulting it I was sure what I wanted him to do to counter the bird's flying would work. There was a tree nearby, something he could use.

"Roll into the tree nearby and use it to bounce into the air."

"What the hell?" Silver asked.

"Didn't see that comin' did ya?"

It took a few tries, but eventually he gained enough height by using the tree to roll into the psychic-bird. We were very lucky it was near the tree. I figured Silver'd been so caught up in watching the near-impossible display that he forgot to give orders.

When Noctowl went down there was a pained screech, the sound making me grit my teeth and cover my ears. In fact, the sound lingered inside my head for several minutes, not letting up or becoming softer ... until I finally lost consciousness ...

Silver shook me several times. On the fifteenth or sixteenth (or what I thought was one of those) I finally was able to blink my eyes open.

"What happened?" I rasped.

It felt like my head was full of cotton ... or fluff.

"You passed out. I'm confused though: the screech didn't knock me out."

I groaned, but at least his voice wasn't as loud as the screech had been.

I reached out a hand and touched his wrist, the accuracy of the movement pure chance. I was so disoriented I'd be lucky to be able to travel anywhere right now.

"I've got better senses than most people," was all I said in explanation.

* I don't know him well enough to tell him more just yet. Besides, he might think I'm a freak, which would really hurt ... he'd treat me like one ... *

A hand on my neck broke me out of my thoughts.

"Can I get you anything to help?"

"Water might," I said, gesturing to where I thought I'd dropped my pack before the battle started. He must have gone and found one of the bottles inside since he pressed one into my hand.

"Here,"

I sat up with a little difficulty and downed the entire bottle in seconds. Instantly I felt better. There was just something about water that could do that for me after things like this happened. Food was the other option for dealing, but water had been the first thing that came to mind.

"You gonna be alright?" he asked.

I nodded, noting I could without hearing ringing or encountering a vicious migraine, both good signs.

"Let's finish the battle," I said, taking the hand he offered to help me up. I squeezed it once before taking several steps back.

I located Shane by his 'feel' and checked him for injuries. He was fine for the most part, but it seemed the screech had hurt his ears too. I asked him if he was ok, touching him all the while to catch the body language pokemon usually communicated to humans with. A rush of images passed into my brain, immediately dowsed and sorted by the bracelets into a sequence.

They showed the last moments (through Sandslash's eyes) before I collapsed. He'd crashed into the airborne psychic type with so much power they both landed on the ground hard, the avian not getting up afterward.

"... you ready to start?" Silver asked.

I nodded, recalling Sandslash.

"Go! Sneasel!"

"Go! Ash!"

"So it did evolve, I wondered what Quilava looked like,"

I shrugged, running a hand over the red spots on the fire type's back, each one igniting at the touch. I hummed contentedly as the heat "turned on" and moved my fingers a few inches away - just enough to feel the extreme heat but not enough to get burned.

"Quick attack Sneasel,"

"You too Ash,"

It took a few times of them both using Quick attack for anything to happen. On the fourth time of this happening they both slammed into each other. I heard the crash and blinked a few times.

* Wasn't expectin' that. They both shoulda been so fast they would avoid an attack until one of us ordered something else. *

"Quickly use Covet,"

"W-what?" was all Silver said to that.

His Sneasel was hit by the attack, being knocked over.

"Quick attack Slash,"

* Didn't know he nicknamed it ... *

While I was distracted by that he must have given the order to strike because I felt pain from Ash when I focused back on the fight.

* Fuckin' pay attention Mura ... *

"Howl,"

I covered my ears in advance to deal with the noise, thankful he had the attack anyway. He'd need all the firepower he could get.

"Quick attack again," Silver ordered.

"Ready a Flame wheel, attack with your judgement, just make sure it's not moving when you do." was all I told the fire type.

He gave an affirming cry before all was silent except for the sound of rushing air as Sneasel ran around.

Ash must have found his opportunity, for I heard something slam into the ground and the crackling of flames.

"Get up!"

* If he even can. That was a direct hit I'm guessin' and with the boost from Howl more powerful than usual ...

"Quick attack,"

"Use your Quick attack too Slash,"

It only took two Quick attacks this time for the pokemon to collide, both falling over with loud thuds. Quilava pulled himself up, his flames still burning, but not as strongly as they normally did. There was no sound from the Sneasel.

I blinked as a hand landed on my arm just above one of the bracelets.

"You did really well," said Silver, his voice that close making me shiver.

"You alright? The screech still affecting ya?"

I shook my head, unable to force words through my lips.

* What the fuck?! *

He put some money into my hand, closing my fingers around it.

"1536 you've earned it,"

I nodded, putting it into my pocket. Half of it disappeared and a 'ding' from my Pokegear signaled the money's transfer.

I finally could speak after that.

"Yeah thanks,"

"You don't look so good, you sure you're alright?"

I sighed, closing the hand attached to my free arm around his wrist.

"I'm fine, just a little ... flustered."

* Why the hell did I say that?! *

"Ok ... 'think I'll get going now."

I tightened my grip, determined not to let him run again.

"Silver ... look, let's exchange numbers ... y'know, so we can call each other when we want a re-match ..."

He snorted, but didn't try to leave again.

"Alright, if you answer a question for me."

I nodded eagerly.

"Are you ... interested in me?"

The way he said it (putting extra emphasis on the word 'interested' than one would normally) told me he meant 'are you attracted to me' instead of something more naive and innocent.

I bit my lip, not sure how to answer. Would he think I was a freak for saying 'yes' or would he be angry if I said 'no.'

I was too annoyed with that thought pattern to deliberate for long.

"Yes,"

He ran a hand over my cheek.

"The truth?"

"Hell, Silver, I've been attracted to you since the first battle,"

* That was risky ... nice going genius ... *

He leaned into me, my body instantly heating up at the contact.

"Should I do something about that?"

* Now you're jus' teasin' me ... *

I shook the hand on my arm off and gripped one of his shoulders tightly, pressing my mouth against his. He responded with passion, our tongues dueling for dominance when I opened my mouth to let his in. I backed off quickly, loving how he wrapped his arms around my waist and clutched me to him tightly afterward.

* Does ... submission turn him on? *

Before I could really get into it, letting my fantasies (nightly things that involved no clothing and a lot of activity) run wild, he broke the kiss. He at least didn't shove me away like a few other guys who'd kissed me had. They had all been 'straight' and wanting to 'experiment.' I had no idea if that was Silver or there was something else going on here I wasn't aware of.

"Silver?" I asked, needing to know I hadn't seriously fucked things up.

He caressed the side of my neck with a hand.

"Sorry, needed to breathe,"

* Oh duh! I tend to forget how to breathe when I kiss since I get a sensory overload ... *

I'd still gotten one (even with the Dowsers on) which I found a little odd.

"I ... uh ... You ever done that before ... y'know with a guy?"

* You sound so like y'know what you're talkin' about Mura ... *

"No, you were the first time with a guy,"

* Oh fuck, he's one of those ... *

He must have seen something on my face because his hand moved down to squeeze my shoulder instead.

"Is that a problem for you? I mean, you are the first guy I've been attracted to, but after days of dreams and not being able to stop thinking about you ... I'm not going to just run away from this."

* Admirable at least, but can I trust him? If he finds out about my ... talents what will he do? *

"Silver you need to know a few things about me before you make a decision like that."

He laughed quietly.

"What, you got baggage or already with someone?"

* Good two questions I can answer without feeling like a freak. *

"No to either one,"

"Then what's the problem?"

I grit my teeth and played with the chain around my neck.

"I'm a psychic - a psychometric to be exact. Figure out what that means before you make the decision to be with me ... might check police records on abductions 12 years ago too ..."

I was about to leave then, but he stopped me.

"You're hurting aren't you? I wanna help ... it's just that I'm not sure how ... I'm not used to dealing with people, let alone giving comfort."

I sighed. "Say that again after you've done the research. If you really believe in how you feel about me and do the research, the truth will be easier to deal with and understand,"

I wrote down my number and handed it to him (careful not to touch too much lest I latch onto him like a needy leech and not let go) and then left, my destination the Pokemon center.

"I will find out, and then I'll find you," I heard Silver say as I walked.

I had no choice, I'd connected with him so much I'd probably be hearing his voice for hours now if we stayed in the same city.

* Damned powers ... why can't I just be normal for once? If those ... Cyphr people hadn't taken me all those years ago ... I might be ... and then I wouldn't be afraid to get close to people ... wouldn't be afraid they'd think I'm a fuckin' freak ... *

Silver, a few minutes after Murasaki left (Ilex forest) —-

I was worried when he spoke near the end. He sounded so broken and weak. Normally that kind of thing would disgust me, but for some reason I cared about this boy. Cared so fucking much I wanted to 'be with him' as he put it.

* I hope he's not a serial killer or something ... *

I'd made up my mind before he'd kissed me: I would do whatever it took to make him mine. Or at the very least give it my best shot. As much as I wanted him, I wasn't going to force him. But I would do the research he mentioned, then I'd call him and arrange another 'encounter.'

There was a good reason I didn't follow him into the Pokemon center even though my pokemon were in desperate need of healing. From what I'd seen and heard (especially in the last few minutes) he needed some time alone. I also had a phone call to make. Hopefully Kimi had some information for me.

I'd noticed that the grunt who'd been guarding the well was gone. I'd even gone inside and searched the place myself to make sure there was no one left. The whole place was empty of people, but I had found something useful. There was a computer chip lying on the ground, but I hadn't been able to make heads or tails of the data on it. It just looked like a bunch of numbers and letters deliberately jumbled together to me.

I'd typed them into a message and sent them to Kimi last night (a process that took quite a long time). I had yet to hear from her about that, and I was pretty certain Murasaki had beaten all the Team R members inside the well. Kurt had mentioned a kid with his description defeated the 'rockets' when I picked up a custom-ball from him yesterday. To think, a kid had stopped them. Proton would be furious if indeed he was sent here.

* That would be amusing to watch ... *

I pulled out my Pokegear and dialed Kimi's number.

"Hello,"

"Kimi you got anything?"

"Good thing you called now instead of ten minutes ago. I just finished copying all the relevant-looking files and information from Proton's office and am driving home now."

"That's good. Did you find a lot?"

"Loads actually. Haven't had a chance to look through anything very thoroughly though - didn't want to get caught so started copying computer files and photo-copying the rest."

"Good job ... Did you get a chance to look at the message I sent you?"

"Yeah. What did this string come from?"

"String?"

"Data string Silv - it's what you sent ... looks like a code to open a door or safe."

I growled under my breath.

"Don't. call. me. that."

"Oh touchy ... ok ok, I won't."

"You have any idea what the string is supposed to open?"

"A secret base is my best guess. The numbers and letters at the beginning suggest top secret information and the numbers at the end mean a 'vault' of some sort."

"Alright ... did you find out why Team R went to Azalea?"

She snorted. "It sounds so weird hearing you say that when you're ex-R now."

I sighed. "Just answer the question."

"Yeah yeah. They went to Azalea to sell Slowpoke tails for a profit."

I decided not to comment. I'd seen some Slowpoke in the well while searching around, but none of them had missing tails.

"What, you gonna be a heartless bastard about this?"

"No, just wonder what they did with the Slowpoke afterward. All the Slowpoke I saw after they left had their tails."

"Hmmm that's odd."

* You're telling me ... *

"Is there anything else you need right now Silver?"

I thought for a moment, not sure if I should involve her in the research.

* I can't get access to the Team R databases anymore, there might be something there that can explain what he meant ... *

"Silver?"

"Sorry ... Can you look in the Team R databases for anything on abductions 12 years ago?"

"What for?"

"Just a project I'm working on. Might have a case against them if I can get enough evidence."

* I'll do the rest of the research myself. I will come back to you ... no matter how bad or how 'freaky' things get Murasaki. *

"Ok I'm on it. Can do that from home actually. I'll scan the stuff and put it on chips to mail you. Is there a secure location I can mail them to?"

I thought for a moment.

"I know someone in Goldenrod who will keep stuff safe for me. Have it sent to the Pokemon center there and I'll contact them."

"Uhhh can I have a name so I can put on the package 'only to be picked up by' ... this person?"

"Lanie Zel."

Murasaki, same day, 19:55 (leaving Azalea town) —-

For the past hour I'd been at the 'center, getting ready to leave Azalea town. First I got the pokemon healed, then I went back to the room to look through my items again and pack. I paid particular attention to the thing in the blanket Momo sent me, discovering it was another egg. I would need to put a pokemon into the pc in order to hatch it, so Gastly was put in there.

The egg was very warm, which made me wonder how long it would take to hatch. Momo also sent a book titled 'guide to hatching and taking care of baby pokemon' along with one on how the Dowsers worked as well. I held the egg in my lap (the blanket still wrapped around it) as I flipped through both stores of information.

* I'll havta check these out more later ... *

I also pulled out the letter dad left with my Pokegear and read it:

Murasaki,

You are no longer my son - no longer a Jeigar. Your leaving home for this 'silly journey of yours' was the straw that broke the camel's back. I have already cut your access to family funds, and if you try and register anywhere that needs your full name you will find signing your name as Jeigar will raise red flags.

I wasn't going to give you this device, but your sister insisted I give you the best model possible. She does not know of your disassociation with the family, but she is hardly family in my eyes - too much like that 'horrid woman.' This is the last you will hear from me. From this day forward you are no longer a Jeigar and no longer my son. For all I care you could be gay and into bondage.

DON'T COME LOOKING FOR ME WHEN THIS WHOLE TRAINER THING BACKFIRES ON YOU - I WON'T HELP YOU.

\- Albert Jeigar -

CEO Lans-corp. -

* What a fuckin' jerk! So that's why he just gave me the 'gear and let me leave. I don't need him anyway, Momo's the only family I need. *

There was a tiny voice in the back of my mind that whispered Silver could be part of that family, but I diligently ignored it.

—- —- —-

I kept all the pokemon I'd had in the battle with Silver when I went into the forest (minus Gastly). I helped out a man who lost his Farfetch'd, sending them both back to him after I found them. Another man was there as well when I approached the first. One of them gave me hm 01 Cut, which I used to cut down a tree before exploring further into the forest. Quilava was the one who learned Cut so we could continue.

I collected 1 Revive, 1 Poke ball, an Antidote, and an Ether. Quilava found and brought 3 Tiny mushroom, an X attack, an Antidote, a Repel, and a Super potion. After getting all these I came across another fat man (Klefki's name for him not mine). He was able to teach the move Headbutt to pokemon. Troy learned it and I tried it out on a nearby tree.

Unlike most moves Headbutt could be used out of battle. Of course, Flash worked the same way. Troy was now lv 9 - I'd trained him some before cutting down the tree. I made sure to catch an Oddish and a Paras as well, they could be useful at some point. I was thinking that Oddish would be more useful though. I'd read somewhere they had four possible evolutions, so I caught 2 using the last Dusk ball for one and a poke ball for the other.

After capturing the new additions I worked on leveling Troy again. When he was lv 15 I went back to the 'center to heal. When I entered the town Ash ran off (I followed) and we met a man in a house who gave us a Charcoal. I let Quilava hold onto it, it would boost his fire-type attacks by 20 percent.

While the nurse healed my pokemon, I brought out the Pokedex and used it to find out what pokemon could be caught in or around Azalea town. The machine spoke out the list. There were two pokemon that showed up as 'unknown' which I wanted to check out before leaving Azalea. After the pokemon were healed I went outside to try and figure out what the unknown pokemon were.

Klefki told me what was around me as I walked around town. At this point it was faster than constantly scanning with the Pokedex. Finally he noticed some trees behind the Pokemon center and I walked over to them. I had Troy use Headbutt on them, hoping a pokemon would fall out. That's why you could use Headbutt out of battle, to find and catch pokemon that were harder to find. This was not always the case, but sometimes you could catch certain pokemon in trees much earlier than looking for them in say grass.

There were two trees behind the 'center. The first tree contained a Heracross, which I caught with little trouble. The second tree held an Aipom, another capture. Heracross was a bug-fighting pokemon and Aipom was a normal type.

I went to the well after snagging the two new pokemon. I got Troy to level 17 and the egg from Momo shook a little after he elevated to 17. I pressed the button on the Pokegear for the time and was surprised to find it was 01:00. I went back to the 'center and healed the pokemon before going to bed. I made sure to unwrap the egg and cuddle it close to me as I slept.

Murasaki, next morning, Monday (leaving Azalea town) —-

Before leaving the town for good I got the (now finished) Friend ball from Kurt. I decided to leave my only wht apricorn with him so he could make me another Fast ball. I went back to the forest, Klefki reminding me where I'd stopped the night before.

Near the fat man, was a Kimono girl. Klefki told me she was not the same one I'd met in Violet city. This one was lost, so Ash took her back to the entrance of the forest. Once Quilava came back I moved on.

I trained Troy occasionally, but mostly focused on finding the various items scattered around. I didn't find any myself, but Ash brought me a Full heal, an Ether, and a Star piece. There were no more items and nothing else to do in the forest, so I made my way to the gatehouse that should lead to Goldenrod city.

When I stepped out through the non-forest side of the gatehouse I found myself on Route 34. There were several pokemon I could catch here. Drowzee, Abra, Ditto, Magikarp, and Krabby were sent to my pc. I got two Ditto and two Krabby - the extras for Momo. The Magikarp was also for her.

I was hoping she'd trade something for the Ditto even though it wasn't a water type. She'd gushed about Ditto to me once, saying it was cute and could be used in breeding to 'make more of one pokemon.' Apparently whenever you put a pokemon in a day care with a Ditto it would have their baby no matter the gender. If a pokemon was genderless, like some ghost-types and legendaries they would not breed with it.

I went on in the route after catching the pokemon I wanted. After battling three trainers I somehow ran into a tree. I'm not sure if I wasn't paying enough attention, or if Klefki wasn't. Something hit the floor after the collision and I picked it up to find it was a Super potion.

I battled the last trainer on the route (a female picnicker) after that. She had a Bulbasaur, a starter from Kanto she said. She told me she might be able to get me some evolutionary stones at some point, so I added her number to the Pokegear when she offered it. Since she was the last trainer I was relieved for the short break.

After passing by her I came to a building. Klefki directed me to a sign, which I touched. After a moment I gathered that it said 'day care.' I went inside and heard Lyra talking to someone, but didn't care enough to listen to what was being said. When she was done, Lyra came over to me and gave me a tour of the place. Lyra gave me her number before she left. I agreed to take it reluctantly.

I went back outside and an old man gave me a sheet of paper with two numbers on it. He told me they were for him and his wife. One of them would tell me if the two pokemon I left were compatible or had an egg, and the other would tell me how many levels the pokemon I left there had grown. I input the numbers and went back inside.

For now, I wanted to leave my Ditto here. I put Troy into the pc and grabbed the pink pokemon. Once it was safely behind the counter I went back to the pc and looked over my newest additions.

* What should I train next? *

I ended up putting Troy and Shane in the pc. I chose Oddish and Magikarp to take their places. At the very least, I could train and evolve both of these two. Magikarp was useless, but evolved into the mighty Gyarados. Oddish was pretty weak, but evolved into Gloom, a much better pokemon. The team was now Quilava, Klefki, Kirlia, Oddish, Magikarp, and the egg.

After modifying the team I made it back outside. There was one more trainer to fight and a tm before I could get to Goldenrod city. The tm was 63 Embargo, a move that didn't seem too useful. I picked it up anyway just in case.

A security guard said "hi" to me as I entered the city. The Pokemon center was where I went first once in. I healed everyone and Momo called to inform me of a package she'd sent. In it were an Amulet coin, the Revival herb she'd promised, and a Lucky egg. The coin gave double the amount of money if the pokemon holding it fought in battle with a trainer and the Lucky egg gave extra exp points during battle. The Revival herb Momo had reminded me before 'revived' pokemon with the side-effect of making your pokemon hate you due to its horrendous flavor.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes:

Since I know someone will ask, here are the time lines for the various regions:

Kanto - 5 years after the defeat of Team rocket by Red

Johto - Normal time line for the Hgss games. I know the characters are older, but that's just my add-in, nothing different here.

Hoenn - 1 year after the defeat of Teams Magma and Aqua by Emerald (The legendary pokemon Kyogre, Groudon, and Raiquoisa have all been calmed or captured).

Sinnoh - regular game time line (Dp, not Platinum) - just started -

Unova - time line of W 2 and B 2

Kalos - time line for the X and Y games (start of them)

Orre - 10 years after Wes defeated Cipher and Team Snagem, 3 years after Michael defeated them again

I would also like to point something out here. Unless otherwise stated, most characters you see won't be carbon copies of game characters. They will be based off characters from the games (like Nurse joy and the Security guard from Goldenrod) but won't actually have the same personalities. I have even tweaked some of the gym leaders a bit. The only exceptions to this I know of at the moment are Silver and Lyra. I take a bit from both manga and games for them, mostly Silver though. That's why he has a Sneasel before he gets the Totodile. Lyra and Silver are still ooc, but closer to game characters than most.

One more thing before you go and read the Chapter!

…

The 'great regions' will be mentioned in this chapter. They are the seven regions mentioned in the prologue. I will list them here just incase anyone forgot.

Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Ore

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * chapter VI * * *

\- Team Pink Versus Team Purple, Research, and Another Baby -

Cipher and Team Rocket have an unlikely alliance. They work on joint projects; both having goals of taking over the world and using pokemon to do so. One wants to terrorize and intimidate, while the other seeks to take people's pokemon and use them for their own dark purposes. Either way, they're both rotten to the core.

Nascour, somewhere in the Under, Orre (exact location unknown) —-

I snuck into Ardos' office, being sure he was out of the base before making the attempt. I was on rocky ground with the Executive, my former status as part of Cipher working against me. Though we were essentially both members (or ex-member in my case) of the same organization, we'd operated under different bosses with different goals. In my time with Cipher I'd worked under Verich, an alias the boss took to seem like a harmless old man. Ardos worked under another until a few years ago, one whose sinister plans had involved a Lugia.

* What was the man thinking? Were the people of Orre just supposed to sit back and let stuff like that happen? *

I shook myself from my thoughts as I crept into his office, already knowing where the files I sought were. Thankfully the dark blue-haired man was due to be out for several hours, so my chances of getting caught were very low. I was working for Ardos now, but ever since Wes took down Cipher when I was fully into what was being done to pokemon, my goals had changed. No longer did I want world domination through taking others' pokemon (or going through the trouble of using legendaries like Ardos' boss had). My goal now was to take Cipher down from the inside, which is why I'd prostrated myself before the man and offered to do his dirty work as well as clean his office every few days.

Being the big boss now, he didn't have time for things like that. I made sure to appear extremely desperate when I asked to join up with Cipher again, knowing if I didn't I'd be suspicious. The official story was that Wes (with the help of a girl named Rui) took down Cipher ten years ago. Most operatives from that time were locked up somewhere. I was the exception to the rule however.

I'd done my time in jail, but at the end before Cipher was defeated I aided the hero. This is what got my sentence shortened, the plans and locations I gave him were what got the job done faster. Not to say that Wes wasn't strong and capable in his own right (he had the proof practically stamped over all the work he did) but I did help at least. I had the chance to redeem myself and took it.

By the time I figured out what Verichs' plans actually were I wanted out. (He'd told everyone he'd take over Orre and give executives a city or two to rule over). Using the Tyranitar wasn't the end, he'd wanted to lure Ho-oh and use its power to take over the world. Unlike the reborn Cipher that Ardos was part of, he planned to lure the bird in front of an audience instead of capturing it outright. The plan was brilliant and terrible at the same time. With some of the projects I found details for Verich might have been able to do so, the world forever doomed by the flames of a legendary who had no choice in the matter.

I growled under my breath and opened every drawer I could find, determined to get this done before my new boss got back. I did rearrange papers and files on the desks in the room, (my usual duty when I cleaned the office) but my main goal was to find out what he was up to. After several minutes of fruitless searching I finally hit the jackpot. There was a hidden compartment in one of the drawers, not unlike a false bottom the way it was nearly invisible against the dark wood the drawer was made from.

When I tried removing it I encountered a snag. I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling, taking a poke ball from my belt and releasing Sahlia. The Gardevoir appeared and glanced around, her eyes finally falling on me.

"I want you to use Psychic on this drawer. There's a locked compartment I need you to take care of."

A few seconds later there was a soft click and I recalled her, removing the hidden slat of wood that had been previously locked. Inside was an innocent enough looking file, plain and simplistic with the words "project scramble" printed in block letters on the outside .

* Project scramble? *

There were many documents in the file, but only one meant anything to me.

—- project scramble —-

The idea of this project is to create stronger and more unpredictable pokemon. Such pokemon will not only create chaos, but be a great asset in the 'master plan.' What is being done to the subjects in question is a "scrambling" of the attacks they can use. For instance, we created a Mareep so physically strong it could crush rocks given the right tm or hm.

The processes taking place in order to achieve such feats are phenomenal. Some pokemon are just enhanced in some way in order to accomodate such moves, while others are given an item to eat that changes their structure entirely. One example of the latter is "aqua burst" a water type that can use fire-type moves. The DNA of the water type is the same on the outside essentially, but it can also use moves such as Fire blast and Flare blitz.

The reason "special" pokemon like this are being made is for our benefit mostly. There is a tracking chip inserted into each subject, one which cannot be removed easily. Most subjects would die if it was taken out. In this way we will have spies all over the great regions, the pokemon in question will be accessible through a simple press of a button on a device I created for the purpose of controlling them.

Instead of closing their hearts in order to make them more ruthless, I have devised a way of controlling pokemon remotely, while collecting information in the process. The idea is to make sure that at least one of each type is set lose in each of the great regions, ensuring we have spies in many locations at once. I have taken care to release only those types that exist in such regions, we couldn't have say a Fairy type in Johto, where they do not exist naturally.

One more important detail to note is the 'breeding' progression with these "special pokemon," which I have been ordered to refer to them as. When they breed with a "regular" pokemon, they pass on the traits that give them the "wrong" moves. If we go back to the case of the Mareep I will explain. Increasing the strength of the electric-type's hooves and horns is what gives it the ability to crush rocks. So when that particular Mareep breeds with a compatible pokemon, he will pass those traits onto his offspring.

— Dr. Narcos Arkture —

I scoured the rest of the papers inside the file for references to this 'master plan' but found nothing.

* Must be hidden somewhere else in case this is found. *

I replaced everything, making sure to remember what was relevant, before leaving the office.

* It's a good thing I have a photographic memory ... it's what made me such a great asset to Verich. I have no qualms about using it against this sick man ... *

Murasaki, Monday, 12:15 (Goldenrod city) —-

In my room I opened my pack and went through the hold items I had.

* Hmmm ... *

Kirlia already had the Choice band, so I let him keep it. Klefki got the Shell bell, Magikarp got the Bright powder, and I gave Oddish the Amulet coin. Ash was so attached to the Charcoal I'd given him earlier that I let him hold onto it.

—- —- —-

I picked up a Radio card from the Radio Tower here in Goldenrod, being told by someone there it could be useful later on. I just hoped there'd be something good to listen to at least once a day. In order to get said card I had to take a quiz. Immediately after receiving the item (which I promptly put into a slot on my Pokegear) Klefki spoke up.

(A girl wearing pink just left from here.)

"Uhhh ... why are you telling me this?" I hiss-whispered.

(Thought you should know. She was giving you an odd look when she left.)

I rolled my eyes.

"Like what?" I asked the same way as before.

(It is like she expects to see you again. You didn't 'feel' her?"

"No,"

As I was about to leave the woman who'd given me the card called out to me.

"Don't leave yet! You can get more features for the Radio card upstairs."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed softly, making my way to the stairs with directions from Klefki. This place was busy at the moment and all I wanted to do was leave. The amount of people there were gave me a headache (due to all the information I was getting) even with the Dowsers on.

* Either there are too many or my powers are growing again ... *

That actually happened a few years ago, the very reason I hadn't left to become a trainer. It was so overwhelming to leave the house that I was stuck inside for days while I became accustomed to the changes. Once I could only get images thoughts and feelings by touching people and objects, but at that time I gained the ability to do so within a certain distance. Places like this were hell on me back then, and not much better now. I dreaded going into a department store, something which I would inevitably have to do at some point.

Upstairs I talked to a woman with dark brown hair in order to get a Blue card, which would allow me to participate in something called Buena's password. Klefki was the only reason I knew that much about the woman. I thanked her and left, putting the new card into the Pokegear as I did so.

—- —- —-

I stood in front of a 'flashy looking' building, wondering how I'd gotten into this situation.

* That's right, Klefki likes how it looks and wants me to check the place out. Why did I agree to this? *

I could 'feel' so many emotions from the place that I was certain I wouldn't last long in there without getting violently sick.

(You aren't backing out now are you?)

"No, but I'm doing this for you. If I get sick in there I will blame you for it."

Inside there was a lot of talking and several sounds I didn't recognize.

* What the hell is this place? *

"Hello sir, welcome to the Goldenrod city Game corner. Can I get you anything?"

(He's wearing fancy clothes.)

I shrugged, deciding not to answer the key or the man.

There were a few minutes of silence before a hand landed on my arm.

"Sir let me at least get you started with something you can use here, it seems like you're a little lost."

I grit my teeth and forced myself not to flinch or show any other reaction to his touch. It was difficult though because there was skin-to-skin contact.

* Might havta buy some gloves or something if I havta touch people a lot myself. This is getting ridiculous ... I can't deal with this much longer ... *

I pasted a smile on my face and nodded. The man went off somewhere for a bit, leaving me alone. I bit my lip, removing the Dowsers, immediately feeling both better and worse. A full-force shock wave of nausea hit me, or at least that's what it felt like.

* A gambling den disguised as a pretty 'flashy' building great ... *

I could also 'feel' so many strong emotions here that I was sure the headache I felt building in my temples would grow into a migraine soon.

* And again, why did I agree to this? *

The man came back before either of the side effects could get much worse. I slipped the Dowsers into my pocket as I heard him approach. I knew it was him due to the 'distinct' professional 'feel' to him.

* He touched me, so is that how things will be from now-on? These powers are seriously more trouble than they're worth sometimes. *

"Sir?"

I shook my head, gripping Klefki's ring to anchor myself to the reality in front of me. I almost felt lightheaded now.

* Is this 'cause of the Dowsers? Did they hold back too much ... *

"Yeah?" I finally managed to get out.

"Here sir, thought you would want this first,"

He handed me a bottle of water, which I opened and drank from with gusto.

"This is for you as well sir," the man said when I finished gulping down most of the water.

A box (or rather a case with a latch Klefki informed me) was put into my hand.

I nodded in thanks, putting both items into my pack before making my exit.

(Why did you leave?)

"Oh what, you didn't notice how uncomfortable I was in there?"

(You ... seemed like you hated it there, but I thought you could handle it.)

"Well it turns out I couldn't. My ... skills were actin' up."

(Ah, I think I understand now. That's why you tensed up when he touched you?)

* You noticed that huh? *

"Yes," I grit out, my hands curling into fists at my sides.

(I am not insinuating you are weak, do not be angry with me for observing.)

I took a deep breath.

"Yeah I know ... sorry about that."

(As long as you mean it I accept.)

—- —- —-

I walked into a building sometime later, having needed to calm down before facing the fact I'd have to be around people again. I'd spent the minutes training pokemon and devising strategies for future battles. I thought about drawing for a while, but the idea of possibly picking up more to purge kept me from doing so. I only had so much room in the notebook, something I'd havta change soon.

* There has got to be a place I can buy more notebooks around here somewhere ... *

(There are less people inside here I bet.)

"Uh-huh, I'm holding you responsible if I get sick after going in there ..." I muttered.

There were less emotions I could 'feel' from this place than the Game corner, but I felt something familiar too.

* Oh hell no ... if she's here I so don't need to deal with her right now ... *

To my unfortunate luck, Lyra found me a few minutes later.

"Hi Murasaki,"

* What the hell do you want? *

"Hey," I said quietly, hoping she'd get the message and leave me alone.

No such luck.

"I have something for you!"

I ran a hand over the keys Klefki guarded, hoping the feel of the cool metal would help me keep from hitting her.

* Why in the fuck does she have such an annoying high-pitched voice? *

"You ok?" she asked, a shock since she seemed pretty dull and unobservant to me.

"Just been a long day."

"Already? Well, maybe this will make you feel better!"

She put a slim-looking box into my hands (or rather another case I found out as I ran my fingers over it).

"What's this for?"

"It's a Fashion case,"

I listened (for once) as she talked about it. I was actually interested. At first I thought she was giving it to me to insult me, since something like this sounded so girly, but that wasn't the case. I could collect various items called 'pokemon accessories' and use them to dress up my pokemon. This 'dress-up' could be photographed all over Johto apparently. Normally I wouldn't care about something like that, but knowing Momo she'd ask for pictures of my pokemon at some point.

Finally the girl left, her Marill (which showed up during the discussion) following her.

I sighed in relief when she was gone.

(You were listening to her this time, why are you ... exasperated?)

It seemed like he was hedging to me, not sure how to take my behavior at the moment.

"No, she's just a handful no matter what she's talking about. I'm so glad I'm not related to her ... I'd probably shoot myself if I was,"

(That's harsh,)

I shrugged. "It's the truth."

I climbed down some stairs to go deeper into the building once I was done remarking on the girl. When I walked forward I was challenged to a battle. There were three more of these before I got a break. Oddish was coming along nicely, Magikarp leveling a bit from the battles as well. The items I gave them were very useful, I was glad I'd taken the time to give them to the newcomers. At this point Oddish was level 11 and Magikarp was level 10. I had a stronger Magikarp I coulda trained, but that one I was saving to trade with Momo.

A man said he could take a picture of my team as I went past him. I stopped, thinking about it for a moment.

* Why the fuck not? *

I smiled in the man's direction and said "sure." He handed me a stack of clothing to wear and pushed me into a small room, telling me not to come out until I'd changed into the outfit. I grumbled in annoyance, but figured going along with it would make things much easier.

After I was changed I came back out.

"Good! That looks great on you."

I shrugged, not really caring.

"Bring out your team and let's get a picture,"

I let everyone out, cradling the egg in my arms as the pokemon crowded around me.

"Isn't there a fifth pokemon? Most trainers have six ..."

I rubbed my neck and dug my nails into skin to keep from yelling at him. His enthusiasm was starting to grate on my already shot control.

"There are five, the keys around my neck are a steel-type, Klefki,"

"Ah, just wanted to make sure before I took the picture."

* Sure you did, *

(He seems very ... happy about doing this, but isn't messing with you. Give it a rest,)

I snorted, not answering him.

"Say Togepi,"

* Huh? *

I smiled the best I could, but absolutely refused to say something. The concept seemed stupid to me. Why say something when the idea is to 'smile' anyway? The man told me I could view the photo in my pc.

I asked him about the 'togepi' he'd mentioned.

"Oh that, Togepi's a pokemon that's said to be happy all the time ..."

I thought for a moment, getting a strange idea. I pulled out my notebook and a pencil, turning to a blank page before drawing Troy. The pokemon did seem unusually happy to me.

"Is this one?" I asked when I was finished.

"Yes! That's exactly what they look like,"

After chatting about how 'good' my drawing skills were the man mentioned there were vendors in this place. He called said place the 'goldenrod underground.' There were supposed to be a pair of brothers who could give pokemon hair cuts here sometimes, and also a woman who sold herbs. The man confirmed my suspicions that the herbs were Revival, Heal, Energy powder, and Energy root. I thanked him for the picture and the information, changing back into my own clothes before leaving.

(You do know that was a Team rocket uniform he gave you to wear don't you?)

—- —- —-

Sadly the next place I went was the Department store. It was the only store I could buy supplies for my journey in Goldenrod, so I had no choice. I was lucky though, it being early afternoon the overly large store wasn't as crowded as it could have been. I honestly expected it to be much louder and to feel nauseous at least, but it wasn't so bad, 'this time.'

I sold 3 Tiny mushroom, 1 Star piece, 2 Rare candies, 4 Potions, 2 Repel, 1 X attack, and 2 Ether. The male clerk behind the counter handed me some money and I moved out of the way to count it. After touching each bill individually, I figured out I'd made 13650 poke dollars from selling all that stuff.

* And this won't go to the account Momo set up, which is good since I need more supplies. *

I bought 9 Poke balls, 1 Ultra ball, 1 Escape rope, 1 Hyper potion, 2 Full heal, and tm 17 Protect. I put all the items away before moving on.

Klefki told me a man was staring at me before I could leave the floor I'd bought the tm from (floor 5). I sighed, making my way over to the man (which Klefki informed me was very fat) to find out what he wanted.

"Do you have a Drowzee? I'd be happy to trade my Machop for it."

I thought for a moment, wondering what help this 'machop' would be.

The man must have seen something on my face he took as hesitance because he started talking again.

"Pleeease! Machop is a fighting type and mine's a girl,"

* That changes things ... *

I smiled a little.

"Ok you have yourself a deal,"

I started to leave and the man panicked, shuffling (he must have been really really fat) to stand in front of me.

"Don't go!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I have to get the Drowzee from the pc,"

"Oh," the man said in relief.

* Calm down man ... *

I switched out Magikarp for Drowzee at the 'center (healing Oddish since I was there anyway) and came back. I stood there for a moment as the man waddled over.

"You got it?"

I nodded, not feeling like talking to him again. The trade was made and I found out the guy had named the Machop Muscle and she was level 13.

* Fitting I suppose ... *

I checked to see if she came with an item, removing it (a Macho brace) to look at later.

The next thing I did was go up to the sixth floor. I bought a lottery ticket on that floor, winning tm 65 Shadow claw as a prize. The lady behind the counter told me they were rare (berries were the usual prizes) so I was glad I'd gotten it. I thought I might as well ask about where to buy notebooks, the lady telling me she'd sell me three for 100 poke dollars. I paid for those and Klefki told me what else was up here.

It turned out there was a vending machine selling drinks. I could buy Fresh water, Soda pop, or Lemonade. Fresh water healed 50 hp, Soda pop healed 60 hp, and Lemonade healed 80 hp. Naturally I bought some Lemonade, it healed even more than a Super potion. It was cheaper too. I picked up 6 Lemonade for 2100 poke dollars, which was half of what I'd pay for the same number of Super potions. Once I'd bought those I stepped into the elevator.

Silver, Monday, 15:00 (Goldenrod city) —-

That morning I'd trained like crazy, catching and evolving whatever I could. Oddish became Gloom, Caterpie became Butterfree, Paras became Parasect, Sandshrew became Sandslash, and Abra became Kadabra. I didn't feel like evolving (or training) Magikarp, Drowzee, Krabby, or Zubat right now. I'd caught the new additions along the way, the grass and bug types in the forest, the water-types and psychic types on Route 34.

My team consisted of Sneasel, Croconaw, Sandslash, Gloom, Gastly, and Kadabra when I faced Whitney a short time later. The battle was tough (her normal types being resistant to most of my attacks to some degree) but I did manage to win. It was a very good thing some of my pokemon were female since she tended to use Attract a lot.

—- —- —-

I looked around before approaching a librarian. I'd decided to research what Murasaki had mentioned. I asked the woman about books on psychic powers (which would probably sound like a gimick here in Johto) and she pointed me in the right direction.

I'd heard stories about a gym leader in Kanto who was a Psychic, but was skeptical. Just because she used psychic-type pokemon did not mean she was Psychic herself.

* And what does that say about Murasaki? He only has one psychic pokemon for all I know, so that idea's out. *

Thankfully there was a book on 'all things psychic with humans.' There was indeed a definition for "psychometry" which is what I was pretty sure Murasaki was referring to. I flipped to the chapter (yes there was an entire chapter on it) and started reading.

\- psychometry -

Let me start by describing what Psychometry means. Typically people think of Psychometry as 'touching an object and knowing what happened to the person it belonged to.' This is often not the case, the information one with this ability gains from touching an object can be much more abstract. Sometimes they only get feelings or impressions from an object. To say one 'gets visions of someone's last moments of life by touching a possession' is also false. It can happen, but that is not usually how Psychometry works.

What does typically happen is that a person with the ability will get impressions or feelings when they touch something. If they are lucky they may even get thoughts, or 'feel' what the last person who owned or touched the object felt. In worse cases (such as the owner or last person to touch the object dying horribly or being injured) the person with Psychometry may even develop behaviors or the same injuries. These are the worse case scenarios however.

Some with the ability can view memories from an object. Say a person died horribly, the Psychometric may be able to see how they died. This often times has a limit however, the memories fade after 52 hours. You would think something of this magnitude would help in police work, but most of the time Psychometrics who can view memories don't get into that field. People tend to be skeptical and 'not believe' they can do what they can.

The most powerful (or extremely sensitive) are said to be able to walk into an area and tell what is there (objects and people) while picking up stray thoughts attached to the objects and people. When a Psychometric has prolonged contact with a person or an object they can get more from them, but the 'stronger and more sensitive' get a lot more. One could touch a person and read their thoughts, but not control what they get. In a way they only get what thoughts are on the surface, unable to dig deep enough to get 'dirty secrets' in most cases.

When it comes to getting information from people (in its various forms depending on the particular Psychometric) they usually have a range. Typically this range is between 15 and 20 feet, if they get anything without touch at all.

\- remember -

The thing that stands out the most when it comes to a Psychometric is that their powers work with touch. They get information, their powers cannot typically harm others on principal. They are not like a Telekinetic Psychic (which is what most people think of when they hear the word "psychic") who can move things with their mind.

After reading about that I checked to see if there was anything about abductions in the newspaper archives. Unfortunately there wasn't, at least nothing within the time period I wanted. The papers were all local as well, something I was expecting.

* I at least hoped to find a few from other cities ... *

I had skills with hacking though: once I had a computer I could do a more comprehensive search. I'd even hacked police records when I was still with Team R, getting the information I wanted should be easy.

I left the library (not trusting to not be noticed there whilst hacking) and located an electronics store. I bought a laptop (along with a case for it) and went back to my room in the Pokemon center. After I opened and installed a few programs I'd need, I brought up the internet and started searching.

To start with I typed in "abductions goldenrod 12 years ago" and pressed Enter. I was pretty sure that was the wrong line of questioning, but it didn't hurt to try. There was nothing. I erased "goldenrod" and replaced it with "azalea town." Still nothing. Violet city was next. There was nothing there either.

* I thought there would at least be a reference to abductions in Violet city since it's the closest 'big city' near New bark town. *

Cherrygrove was next. There was nothing there either.

* I'm starting to wonder if he didn't just tell me to look this up to push me away. He seemed pretty fucked-up when he left yesterday ... *

When I typed in New bark town I got a few matches. Apparently a child had been 'abducted' from his home around the time Murasaki mentioned. There was an entire article on the event, the writer commenting on how 'tragic it was.' Not that I didn't think it was, but the writer exaggerated way too much in my opinion.

There was a picture of the child, and I had to do a double take when I saw it.

* That has to be him. *

The kid had blue-violet eyes, white hair, and almost unnaturally white skin, but still looked like Murasaki.

* This must be what he looked like once ... *

Though some of the features were different, others were exactly the same.

According to the story, the kid went missing for 5 years and was finally found by his father near the outskirts of New bark town. The child looked odd in the 'found again' picture, resembling the Murasaki I knew now a lot more than the first photo.

"Mr. Jeigar and his son Murasaki." was written underneath the photo.

The man had blonde hair and aristocratic features, looking almost nothing like his son.

* Maybe he was adopted? Or he could have gotten his looks from his mom ... *

* If this really is him (and if it isn't it's a cleverly-done joke) then he's ... been tortured probably. Is that why he's afraid of being with me? No, it most likely has something to do with Psychometry. Even if he has the weaker version, people would think he's crazy if he advertized it. Hell, I think it's a little crazy myself. *

* He was telling the truth though. Like he said: what reason does he have to lie? He has nothing to gain from it. Would it really bother me if all this was true? If he were ... a Psychometric and had been abducted? *

* I'm not really sure what to think. Maybe if I asked him some questions, see if he can show me what he can do with those ... abilities of his. But if he was abducted what happened during that time? Might not be smart to ask right away. He told me to look, but he probably thought I wanted evidence to back up his story when (or if) he finally tells me everything. *

—- —- —-

Kimi called as I was shutting down the laptop.

"Yeah?" I asked, hoping she had something at least.

"I got something! There are three articles you should look at. All three talk about abductions around 12 years ago."

I sighed in relief, closing the lid of the computer.

"What are they about?"

"Well, one child was part of what the article calls the 'changeling project.'"

"Changeling?"

"Yup. Changelings are people who can turn into pokemon."

I groaned, she was having a field day with that one I was sure.

"What about the others?"

"Another kid was part of the 'pokemorph project.' And before you ask: Pokemorphs are humans with pokemon DNA and features."

There was some shuffling before she continued.

"The last kid was from 'project alpha' an operation with something called 'cyphr."

"Cyphr?"

"Sorry Silver, haven't been able to find out much about it. All I know is that's an organization Team R worked with once."

I hummed a little.

"Is there anything else?"

A sigh. "Nothing I haven't already told you about. I'll put the articles and the scanned stuff from Proton's office onto a computer chip and send them to you."

I made an affirming noise.

"I should use the contact you gave me? I mean it's still good?"

"Yeah that's fine,"

"Got it, I'll get everything together and you should have it by late tomorrow morning or early afternoon."

"Kimi,"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for doing this."

"No problem Silver. Hell, if I could, I'd work for you instead of that green-haired lunatic."

I laughed and then hung up.

Murasaki, department store elevator, 15:15 (Goldenrod city) —-

Klefki told me there was a button for a floor I hadn't visited yet, so I pushed it. Apparently it would take me to the basement. I could have figured out the buttons myself, but having him help here was a good idea. The elevator wouldn't wait forever, and it would have taken me a while to go through all the buttons with as many floors as there were.

When I stepped out of the elevator I heard a lot of noise.

* What's going on down here? *

The sounds weren't as loud as things were in the Game corner thankfully.

(There are strong-looking pokemon moving boxes here,)

I went up to a person (who I could 'feel' from my place near the elevator) and asked him what was going on. After he finished telling me he told one of the pokemon (a Machoke he said) to move things out of the way for us. I was confused at first, but after I found the items I understood. I picked up an Ultra ball, an Ether, and a Burn heal from the floor before going back upstairs. I sold the Ether then left the store.

—- —- —-

Once outside I used the map to see if there were any more places I needed to visit. There was a Bike shop in town, so I went there next. After talking to a very skinny man (Klefki's info) I got a nice and shiny new bike. Klefki informed me it was green, which was fine with me.

I got on the bike after exiting the shop. Ash ran off and came back with a Super potion before I got very far.

(There might be something to do at the Game corner, you should go back.)

"Are you fuckin' crazy?"

(It is the middle of the afternoon. If I wanted to gamble, I'd do it in the early morning or at night,)

I bit my lip.

"You have a point, but if I feel sick again I am leaving."

(Fair enough.)

I rode back to the Game corner, pulling out Blitz' ball and tossing it in the air. I could 'feel' his curiosity as I put the ball back on my belt.

"Think you can watch the bike and make sure no one steals it?"

(He says he can do that.)

I rubbed Kirlia's shoulder.

"I'll try not to be in there too long."

—- —- —-

Inside it wasn't so bad. In fact, compared to last time, it seemed almost empty. I made my way over to one of the counters, asking for what I could get here as a prize. There was an awfully long list, which I was grateful for. If this place was here, there should at least be prizes.

The man who'd given me the Coin case before came up to me again.

"Going to play?"

"Yeah,"

"We just opened up a slot machine this morning. It was damaged, but it's fixed now. You can also earn coins by playing the Voltorb flip game sir,"

"Thanks,"

The Voltorb flip game was fun, but didn't give many coins. I used the little I won from there on the Slot machine, managing to win two jackpots. Each one gave me 9000 coins. It took a while to get that though, and by the time I did, I was pretty much ready to go. I walked up to the counter to exchange the coins for prizes first.

I bought tm 13 Ice beam, a Wide lens, and the pokemon Dratini. I was excited about the tm, Momo'd told me how great it was before. Dratini was also a nice prize. A pretty rare pokemon anyway, it was the first dragon-type I owned. The Wide lens would come in handy as well since it increased the accuracy of a pokemon's moves. I planned to give it to Gastly later. After putting everything away (catching Dratini in a poke ball first) I left. Of course, the ball went straight to the pc, since I had too many pokemon with me to carry it.

I remembered that the clerk said the Dratini was lv 15 as I came out of the 'corner. Blitz was very happy to see me. I gave him a short hug before sending him back into his ball. I put the ball away and got back on the bike, riding back to the 'center.

—- —- —-

After I stashed my bike in a safe place behind the 'center, I went inside and called Momo.

"Hello?"

"Hey sis,"

"Oh hey 'bro! What's up?"

I smiled.

"I have some water pokemon for you."

"How many and what are they?"

"Magikarp, Krabby, and Slowpoke."

"Hmmm, which one should I pick?"

"Sis?"

"Yeah?"

"I also caught another pokemon I thought you might want."

"What is it?"

"Ditto."

There was loud squealing on the other end and I had to move the Pokegear away from me so I didn't go deaf.

"You found ... a Ditto?!"

I chuckled. "I found two actually. Just caught one for you."

"You are so awesome 'bro. I'll take that for now."

"Ok."

"You know what you want for it?"

"You got any fighting types right now?"

"Was hoping you'd ask that. Just got one from a friend actually ... How does a Riolu sound?"

Now it was my turn to get excited. Of course I'd heard the stories about Riolu and Lucario, but the one about Sir Aaron stuck out more than any of the others in my mind. What would it be like to have a pokemon that loyal? The fact that it was a fighting type (well, Riolu and Lucario both were) was a huge bonus. Regardless of my preference in types, I really needed fighting type pokemon for the Goldenrod gym. I'd heard a trainer mention Whitney (the gym leader) used normal types.

"'bro?"

"Sorry sis. You've got your thing with Ditto and I've got mine with Riolu and Lucario."

"Thinkin' about the Sir Aaron story?"

"Yep,"

"Well I wish you the best of luck with your new Riolu then. It came in a Luxury ball, so it should evolve faster."

"Glad to hear it."

A few minutes later we'd made the trade. Momo was gushing about the 'cute squishy pink pokemon' and I was just happy to have another fighting type - one I'd always wanted. I let out the emanation pokemon, it sniffing me for a moment before it came over. I heard a cute little growl, before I had an armful of Riolu.

"Gonna call you Aerron."

I started up the pc and went through what pokemon I had, trying to figure out what would be the best team to fight against Whitney. I didn't know much about her battle style other than that she used normal types. I kept Riolu with me, as well as Quilava, Klefki, and Machop. The last pokemon I grabbed was Gastly, switching him with Oddish.

Back on Route 34 I caught another Drowzee. Since wild pokemon were at least level 10 here, it was the best place to train. Machop and Riolu were who I'd focus on first, since they would be the most useful in the gym battle.

I got Machop to level 20. She now knew Karate chop, Seismic toss, and Revenge. I planned on bringing everyone up to level 25 before the gym battle, but I'd work on the non-fighting types last.

Riolu was next up for training. He was lv 15 and knew a few decent moves, so training wasn't that bad. He knew the moves Quick attack, Force palm, Mind reader, and Hi jump kick when I first got him. After a while he made it to lv 20 and started to evolve. Normally this would have been impossible (Riolu's evolution depended on how much happiness it had) but with the Luxury ball the process had been sped up. I smiled as I 'felt' his feelings disappear from my psychometric 'sight.'

* You worked hard, you've earned this. *

A few minutes later a hand (or maybe something else) was placed on my shoulder. I blinked, not having expected it.

(Aerron is tall enough to touch your shoulder now.)

* Must be him then ... *

I smiled and ran a hand over what I hoped was the pokemons' neck.

It was.

(He really seems to like you. Can you 'feel' him?)

I thought for a moment, not getting anything immediately. Then all of a sudden a rush of something (I had no idea what) washed over my psycho-senses.

* That was a rush ... *

I almost felt lightheaded as I pulled the fighting-steel type against me.

* Is this ... aura maybe? *

(He says you are feeling his aura. He is glad to have been put with someone who can sense it.)

* Huh, I was right. *

The rest of the time on Route 34 was spent getting everyone to lv 25. Gastly was the last one I worked with. When he reached lv 25 he evolved. I chuckled as a ghostly body wrapped around my arm.

* He's purple now ... *

I went through the hold items again, seeing what would be best for the pokemon I currently had. Quilava and Klefki kept their items, the Shell bell and Charcoal would serve them well. I gave the Amulet coin to Machop, Lucario got the Lucky egg, and Haunter received the Wide lens. This last item would be particularly useful since I planned to make use of his Hypnosis. I could have bought another X accuracy, but I really didn't feel like wasting the money when I had a hold item that could do the same thing.

After everyone was level 25 I went to heal them at the 'center. My next destination was the gym. There were four trainers to fight, each one going down pretty easily. I was particularly impressed with Aerron's progress, but knew he needed a few new moves. After the last battle I healed the pokemon and then came back to the gym. I then taught Aerron Return and Shadow claw.

—- —- —-

"Murasaki of New bark versus Leader Whitney, begin!" said the referee.

I smirked slightly, taking Muscle's ball from my belt.

"What are you smirking at?"

"Nothin' much,"

"Oh shut up! Let's battle!"

I shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Go! Clefairy!"

"You're up Machop."

"Good a male ..."

* Think again bitch ... *

"Attract,"

* You have gotta be kiddin' me ... *

"Seismic toss,"

The attack hit hard, the normal types' not doing anything. I figured the lady was so shocked that her favorite attack failed she forgot to issue any commands.

* That's gonna cost ya ... *

"Vital throw,"

"Sing,"

"Dodge,"

When her attack finally landed, the Clefairy cried out in pain - then fainted.

"So you took down my first pink beauty, you won't do it again! Go Miltank!"

The referee had nothing to say, staying silent.

"Alright. You're up Ash."

He came up to me and nudged my leg affectionately. When he stiffened I was a little worried.

(He's glaring at the girl right now. He says the color she wears - pink - is offensive and too bright ...)

I had to chuckle at that, it was just too funny.

"I'LL TEACH YOU to LAUGH AT ME! ROLLOUT!"

* Does she havta yell ... *

I sighed, not wanting to deal with this stupid girl.

* How did she become the leader of a gym? Actually it's probably better if I don't know. *

"Dodge,"

Unfortunately I'd taken too long thinking and Ash was hit. I winced as I felt his pain as clear as I'd feel my own.

* Shit ... *

"Flame wheel!"

The fire-tackle hit its target, but didn't seem to do all that much. The flames crackled enough that I could tell he'd connected at least.

* Another couple of those should do it ... *

"You're little mouse is so gonna lose."

"Why's that?" I asked, mentally going through his moves.

"Miltank's too strong,"

* I'll believe that when I see it. *

Several minutes later Quilava was knocked out on the gym floor.

* Damnit! I thought I had this all figured out ... and it cost him ... *

"I told ya so," Whitney said as I withdrew Ash.

I bit my tongue just barely, so tempted to either yell at her or do something ... more physical.

"Aerron it's your turn,"

The Lucario appeared and put a paw on my arm. I shivered slightly as I felt his mood, dark and definitely ready for a fight.

* He cares that much? I never thought I'd see this from a pokemon ... *

(He really wants to kill her. I think he cares about all of us, but takes it personally if someone insults you.)

* You're probably right, *

"Return,"

"Hah, that won't do much! Rollout!"

* He's faster than he looks ... *

And Aerron proved that by dodging not only the first Rollout, but all the ones she ordered, which turned out to be a lot.

Thankfully his Return got through, it was hard to hit the stupid thing while it was rolling. He was really fast, but even with that there was still the problem of the things' speed during Rollout. I could definitely understand why she was using it since I'd done the same with Sandslash during my battle with Silver, but I expected more from a gym leader. It was especially disappointing since she was the third one. If she had been the first I might not have been so disappointed.

* I think Falkner's Pidgeotto was harder to fight than this thing. The only reason it's still conscious is because it's hard to hit. It's not doing any damage at the moment though ... *

A positively evil smirk slid onto my face as I came up with a plan.

"Mind reader, Hi jump kick,"

"Hahaha! That is never going to work. All you'll do is hurt yourself."

"Why don't you watch your opponent instead of making fun of them,"

I didn't care what she said to that, I was sure that was why she would lose. Well that, and her absolute lack of creativity.

The jumping kick slammed into the cow-pokemon so hard it stopped rolling.

(It's almost down. That was brilliant by the way.)

I shrugged.

"What the hell!? Use Milk drink!"

* I don't remember what that one does ... *

I felt a spike of irritation from Aerron and was pretty sure I knew. Klefki confirmed my suspicions.

(It just healed itself,)

* I was hoping I was wrong about that ... *

"Return, Hi jump kick,"

This was of course the command for a barrage. I wouldn't normally have ordered something so risky, but we'd practiced this enough times that I was confident in his ability to execute the attacks for a long period of time. With his speed at least half of those would hit, and if it was the right one, she would lose her second pokemon.

I was right, he could handle it. In five minutes flat the cow was down for the count.

"H-how did this happen! I can't lose!"

* Serves you right ... *

"Leader you still have one more pokemon. Remember that Jigglypuff you just evolved?" the referee said.

The pink-wearing leader was currently crying.

* If you have another pokemon send it out so I can get out of here. All this anger and insulting is going to get to me soon ... and I might get violent. *

That was one thing nobody would want. When I lost control of myself due to what I 'felt' from people, it was especially bad. My background in martial arts would just make things worse. All the teaching of only using them for self-defense would do no good if I got started.

* Shut the fuck up and let's finish this ... *

After several minutes of the referee trying to get the girl to battle we were finally going to continue.

"Wigglytuff go!"

Since Quilava was knocked out I let Aerron stay out for now.

"Joker you're up!"

"Joker?" Whitney asked.

* Don't ask me anything right now you whiny bitch … *

"Haunter," I forced myself to say as the ghost wrapped himself around me before floating off to fight.

"Curse,"

"What will that do? Double-slap!"

* You're a gym leader lady, don't ya know normal-type moves won't work on a ghost-type? *

(That was hilarious.)

I groaned as I heard a loud thud.

(It just hurt itself by trying to lunge at Joker. Of course it didn't work so it just fell.)

I chuckled.

"Shut the hell up! Thunder bolt!"

* It's time to put that item to use ... *

"Hypnosis,"

I cringed as I heard the electricity, not sure what happened.

(He was just a little too slow. The thing's asleep now, but he took a lot of damage.)

* Sorry about that buddy ... *

I gave the signal and the referee stopped the round.

"What the helllll?" Whitney whined.

"Challengers can switch out their pokemon," was all I said as I returned Haunter to his ball.

* You did well Joker ... *

"That's cheating!"

"It's perfectly legal," the referee responded.

"WHO THE HELL ASKED YOU?!"

* Geez, you on your period or something? *

"What-ever. Send out your next one so I can beat it up!"

"You're lookin' at him,"

"Huh?"

"Aerron take the last round,"

"Mind reader, Hi jump kick."

Saying it that way meant to use the two-move combo only once.

* Hers' won't last long ... *

(Hah, the pink thing keeps taking damage from Joker's Curse,)

* Even better, *

"Attack now,"

The pokemon was already on the ground, but it was slammed hard into it again.

(It is stuck in a giant hole.)

"Is it down?" I asked, not caring if the bitch heard.

(You tell me, I can't see it from here,)

I used my powers, touching the ground to get more information. What I found made me chuckle. It was exactly as Klefki had said, and the thing had fainted on impact from what I could tell.

Reluctantly (and with lots of coaxing from the referee) Whitney gave me the badge and tm 45 Attract.

* Well the tm's pretty useless, but I'll keep it anyway. *

"You won, now get out of my gym!"

"You need to give him his prize money leader," said the referee.

"Fine!"

The girl stomped off somewhere. I hugged Aerron tightly, worried I'd attack someone now. The constant spikes in her mood were seriously testing my control. And with the increase in power I'd been experiencing lately I could explode any minute now.

Eventually the girl stomped back in, shoving some money into my hand. Half went to the account when I put it into my pocket. I didn't even care how much as I left, Aerron staying close to me.

—- —- —-

The egg shook like crazy as I tried to make it to the 'center. Aerron put a hand on my neck and growled loudly, almost making me deaf.

(I'll talk to him, you take care of the egg,)

I nodded dumbly, sliding the straps off my shoulders and lowering the pack to the ground.

I grimaced as Lucario marched off, hearing a tree branch snap somewhere nearby.

(I told him to take something apart. He wanted to go back and rip that girl to shreds.)

"Why?"

(He sees what 'feeling' her did to you and wants retribution.)

"Huh," I said in slight awe as I pulled the blanketed egg from the pack.

(He cares so much about you. I think he may even ...)

"Even what?" I asked a little dazedly as I removed the egg from its protective blanket.

(He may even be in love with you. Sorry, it's not something humans in my experience accept.)

I wasn't sure how to take that so I just ignored it. The egg shook violently as I tried to hold it against my chest. Just when I thought I'd drop it a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and a furry head was laid on my shoulder.

* No matter how I feel about it, I think you're right about him ... *

A few minutes later the egg hatched. Somehow having Aerron there must have helped because I could hold onto it once he came back from 'destroying something.' I suspected he'd chosen a tree for that. I almost felt bad for the tree, he'd gotten so strong and fast since I received his poke ball that the tree was probably a pile of splinters at this point.

A cute little noise greeted me as I gently extracted shells from the baby's fur.

"Chim chimchar!"

(At least this one says its name right away.)

* Yeah that is nice ... *

"How does Coal sound for a name little guy?"

A happy call was my answer.


	8. Chapter 8

Key:

* equals thoughts

(...) equals pokemon speech (in Murasaki's mind)

—- —- —- equals scene breaks

* * * * indicates a battle

* * * VII * * *

\- Lots of New Friends and Training -

Murasaki, Monday, 20:05 (Goldenrod city) —-

I healed everyone and then stood there for a moment, not sure what to do next. Klefki helped me out.

(There is a shop ... or rather building you haven't visited yet.)

"Lead the way,"

(It is odd, it is definitely a house, but it looks like a shop.)

I shrugged, taking only a moment to decide whether I should go in or not. I chose to go in.

(There are flower displays here and also a girl behind a counter.)

I walked up to the counter.

"What is this place?"

"We sell bouquets and anything a person might need to care for flowers."

* Sounds like a place Momo would hate. *

Despite being a girl, she didn't care for flowers.

I smiled a little in the girl's direction.

"I'll make sure to come back here if I find anyone who needs some flowers."

"Excellent! Here, take this Squirtbottle. It's a free gift!"

I almost winced at the sound of her voice but just managed not to.

"Thanks," I said, putting it away.

Immediately after I exited through the door, Aerron popped out of his ball. The laser-like sound was followed by a soft growl.

I smiled. "You can stay out if you want, just try not to attack people who look at me funny. If they insult me and have a pokemon out we'll see though,"

(He says that is agreeable, but he would defend you no matter what.)

* Hell, this is both awesome and just a little scary ... *

I went back to the 'center and switched Haunter with Magikarp. I'd be moving on to the next city tonight and wanted to evolve it. After doing that I found myself in the department store again. It was very busy, so I planned to buy what I needed and get out fast. I bought 2 Great balls and 2 Ultra balls before leaving.

—- —- —-

I was inside the northern gatehouse, ready to continue to the next area, when a voice called out.

"Hey can you do something for me?"

* Do I look like an errand boy to you? *

Out loud I asked:

"Like what?"

"Can you take my Spearow to Violet city and make sure a friend of mine gets the mail he's carrying?"

I thought for a moment and then shrugged. After checking the map I figured it wouldn't hurt to do so, it was on the way after all.

"Sure. Who am I lookin' for?"

"A man on Route 31. He'll be near an apricorn tree."

The flapping of wings startled me.

"Sorry about that. He hates poke balls and it's easier if he just flies around behind you."

I shrugged, I wasn't going to argue with that.

"It will follow me right?"

"He will since I told him he'd go with whoever I could find to take him."

* This better be worth it. *

—- —- —-

On Route 35 (the next area) there was a lot to do. I could 'feel' that there were a lot of people here, just not all in one place.

* Thank Arceus for that ... *

Aerron must have sensed something because he moved closer to me, a calming presence.

* Thanks Aerron ... *

I caught a Nidoran M, a Nidoran F, and 2 Poliwag fairly quickly. I'd used the Old rod to get the water types. The Pokedex said Yanma were around here, but I hadn't encountered one yet. Instead of walking around and waiting for one to show up I let Chimchar out of his ball and gave him the Lucky egg Lucario was holding.

I trained him to lv 6 before finding a Yanma. I made sure not to knock it out as I battled it, definitely wanting it now that I knew it was rare (at least around here). After catching it I started to move forward along the route, taking on the first trainer, which was a female Picnicker.

(There is a man with a camera off to the side here,)

I smiled a little, a picture of Chimchar was in order. Since she'd sent it to me, I was pretty sure Momo would want to see Chimchar. After getting a photo taken I thanked the man and kept going. I hadn't found any 'accessories' yet, but I'd work on that later.

I faced trainer after trainer, wondering when it would end.

* Is there an endless supply of them here? *

What felt like hours later I finally defeated the last one. Magikarp had just evolved, so I was happy about that. At this point, he was my strongest water type. Chimchar had also leveled some as well, being lv 11 now.

I found a Paralyze heal and tm 66 Payback on the route. Payback was a dark type move with a 50 base power, but that was doubled if the opponent's attack struck first. I wasn't sure who I'd give it to just yet, but was sure it would come in handy later. After getting Chimchar to lv 12 I walked back to the 'center to heal.

I switched Machop with Oddish before going out again. I wanted to evolve her into Gloom as soon as I could. At this point she seemed to be my strongest grass-type. Even though grass types weren't my favorite, I thought it would be a good idea to have a decently leveled one just in case. If I was going to catch most of the pokemon in the Pokedex anyway, why not take advantage of it?

—- —- —-

I was back where I'd left off at before. Klefki told me there was a gatehouse nearby, so I went in. The Spearow flapped in behind me, Ash walked in front of me, and Aerron walked beside me. His was more of a glide actually, the long hours of training I'd given him (and whatever he'd had before) giving him graceful movements none of my other pokemon could match.

* Whoever Momo got him from must have trained him well ... either that or he was caught in the wild and already knew how to fight by experience ... *

Either way I was grateful to have him.

(There are two exits here.)

The map told me one went toward the National park and the other went somewhere else. I chose the unknown exit, going out that way. As I exited the building a man came up to me. A happy "Poliwrath!" accompanied his arrival.

* Never heard of that pokemon before ... *

I pulled out my Pokedex and looked it up. Apparently it was one of two final evolutions available for Poliwag. I put the Pokedex away just as the man began to speak. He had something he wanted to show me, so I followed, waving vaguely for the bird flapping around to follow me.

(We're in front of a building so large I can't see the top.)

The man stopped walking and turned to me. He introduced himself as Magnus, the founder of something called the Pokeathlon. He explained what those were when I asked thankfully. After explaining the concept to me (which sounded a lot like the Pokemon contests Momo participated in back in Hoenn) he and his water type left.

I tried checking the Pokeathlon stats of all my pokemon like Magnus mentioned I should, but couldn't make heads or tails of how the 'stats' worked. There was "Speed," "Power," "Skill," "Stamina" and "Jump" (which I understood as traits they would use in the competitions). What was puzzling to me was how they were distributed to each pokemon. Some of mine had higher Jump than others, for instance, which made sense if they were a higher level. I had a few lower-level pokemon with very high stats in one area and low in another. Instead of trying to puzzle it out any further I made my way toward the building to go inside.

* Maybe someone can explain it to me inside ... *

Before I could go in though Klefki stopped me.

(There is a strange ... thing I want you to check out.)

"Can't you look at it from here?"

(It's too far away ...)

I sighed. "Alright, tell me where it is."

He gave me directions and I went over to examine the 'thing' he mentioned.

As I approached the object, a man came up to me. He said it was some sort of statue, but what kind of statue was a bunch of tubes? After chatting for a bit he gave me an Apriblender, saying it could be used to make shakes to enhance a pokemon's Pokeathlon stats. I put a pnk apricorn and a blk apricorn in the blender and started it up. After the drink was finished, I gave it to Lucario, who drank it down quickly.

* Wonder what stats that was supposed to help with? I'll figure it out later. *

Once the drink was gone I walked through the doors into the building. A familiar voice greeted me as I stopped for a moment to try and 'feel' how many people were in here. There were too many for me to count, but at least they weren't all in the room I'd just entered.

* What is the bitch doing here? *

"How's it going?" Whitney asked.

I shrugged, not wanting to answer. If I did, she might start yelling again. Aerron growled and stepped in front of me, ready for the kill.

"Stand down, let's see what she has to say first,"

At the very least this would let me stall the inevitable conflict, I'd barely come out of the last one sane.

"S-sorry, about before. I wasn't feeling well and took it out on everyone. Even my best friend was annoyed with me."

I blinked.

* You actually have friends? *

"The referee, Kaylyn, is who I was talking about,"

* Oh ok then ... *

The next few minutes were a little awkward, I had no idea how to act around this seemingly bipolar lady. She'd been so volatile before I would've welcomed a spar or something (before things got really bad at the end of the gym battle) and now she was mellow and friendly. People like that already made me feel uneasy.

* I can handle this, at least she's not insulting me and yelling constantly. *

When she left I was relieved.

* She did tell me some about how the Pokeathlon works, so I gotta thank her for that later ... *

"here, you'll need this," Whitney said as she came back.

* Need what? *

A stack of clothing was put into my hands.

I must have seemed confused, because she started explaining again.

"That's an Athletic outfit. They won't let you compete unless you have one. There are stores where you can buy more in different colors if you want."

(This one is dark green with white stripes going down the sides of the shorts.)

I smiled a little.

"Thanks for everything Whitney,"

"No problem, I'll see you around Murasaki,"

And with that she left again.

Klefki pointed out a bench where I could sit down and think.

* Should I try out these competitions? They could be fun, and maybe there are prizes for winning ... *

After a while I got up and moved around the room, finally stopping at a counter.

"This is where the prizes are kept." a woman said.

"What can I get for winning?"

"I think what you should be asking is: what can I get today? The prizes are different each day."

"So what do you have for today then?"

"Today we have Red Apricorns for 200 P, Blue Apricorns for 200 P, Green Apricorns for 200 P, Moomoo Milk for 100 P, Moon Stones for 3000 P, and Rare Candies for 2000 P."

* I will need at least two Moon stones if I remember how Nidoran M and F's final evolutions work ... *

"I'll come back later,"

I chose Ash, Aerron, and Gyarados to compete in my first try at a Pokeathlon. All three did well, and I managed to get second place.

* Not too bad for a first-time ... *

An hour later I'd competed in Arceus-knew how many competitions and won with either first or second place in most of them. I had 12000 P points now, which I would be putting to good use. After checking I found I'd participated in seven competitions so far.

* Didn't know it was that many ... *

At the counter from earlier I exchanged 8400 P points for 2 Moon stones, 1 Rare candy, and 4 Moomoo milk. The Moon stones I wouldn't use 'till later, I planned to sell the Rare candy, and the Moomoo milk would be useful when I started battling again. It was supposed to heal 100 hp, which was even better than the Lemonade from the department store. I stashed everything in my pack before leaving the Pokeathlon stadium.

—- —- —-

I was in the National park now. Klefki had something to say.

(There's a woman with a large cat pokemon on a bench nearby,)

"Do you mean Persian?" I asked with a hint of excitement in my voice.

I'd always wondered what they looked like.

(I think so ...)

I wandered over to the bench and smiled a little.

"Is that a Persian?" I asked the woman.

"Yes, it is. This is what Meowth evolves into. Isn't it gorgeous?"

I frowned, tempted to reach out and touch, but not sure if she would allow it.

"You can touch her if you want,"

After petting the cat for a bit I nodded.

"She is beautiful,"

"Thank you. Here have this item, I'm not using it."

A claw-like object was put in my hand.

"What is it?"

"It's a Quick claw. A pokemon who holds it will get a 10 percent chance of moving first in battle, no matter who's faster."

* Sounds like it could be useful at some point ... *

I thanked the woman for her time, slipped the item into my pack, and walked away.

I found a Soothe bell lying on the ground and picked it up, thinking i'd use it later.

* This would have made Riolu evolve even faster if I'd had it before ... *

I let Oddish out and started walking around, looking for a wild pokemon for her to fight.

(Ash left again.)

* Don't go for too long, I don't know when I'll be leaving here, *

It took a while, but Oddish finally made it to lv 20. It was so difficult because her only offensive moves were Absorb (which took 20 hp) and Acid (which did 40 damage if I was lucky). Chimchar (which I'd been training as well) had done a lot better. He was lv fifteen, just one level away from evolving. I wondered what he'd evolve into, it wasn't like I could look that up since I didn't have the data for it.

* Probably another monkey pokemon ... *

I'd stepped off the grass for a little break, and was about to go back in when Ash came back.

* He's been gone a while, wonder what he was doing? *

(He says he has goodies for you. Come!)

The fire-type emphasized his words by tugging on my pant leg.

"Ok ok, buddy I'm comin'" I said with a small laugh, 'feeling' the curiosity from all my pokemon as they followed behind me.

It turned out Ash found a few things I could definitely use. There were 2 Full heal and tm 28 Dig on the ground in front of me, which Klefki kindly identified for me. I bent down to retrieve the items and stowed them, rubbing Quilava's head affectionately.

"Thanks a lot Ash,"

The patches on his back heated, not igniting, but still nice and warm. I pressed both hands against the incredible warmth and sighed in relief, feeling a little better.

Things had been kind of intense the last few hours, so a chance to relax was nice. I felt like I was drifting a little, my mind going just a bit fuzzy as I let my control slip. I could feel Ash's adoration for me, Klefki's fond feelings, Chimchar's excitement to evolve, Oddish's eagerness for battle, and Aerron's love. It felt so right to be like this with them, able to tell what they felt, something which even someone who could see wouldn't sense.

A loud growl from Aerron brought me back to reality.

* What the hell? *

(A bug got too close and he is threatening to kill it.)

* Wow, *

"Stand down Lucario," I said in the most authoritative voice I could muster. I'd never really gotten the hang of doing that, that was my dad's area. Momo said it was how I carried myself that got people to listen and believe me.

* I'd much rather have that than become a carbon copy of him ... *

A few battles (with wild pokemon) later Chimchar evolved. He called out "Monferno!" which I figured was the name of his new form. Oddish evolved a short time later. I made her wait an extra level just to be sure. It paid off since she learned Mega drain at lv 21 before evolving at level 22. Since Mega drain was a more powerful version of Absorb, waiting was worth it.

Battling trainers was the next course of action. Klefki told me he thought he could see four people who would battle me in the park. The first two went down pretty easily, the third following suit a short time later. I didn't really use any strategy on them, I won by sheer level-advantage. Level 15's and 16's were no match for my 22 plus. The only one who had a little trouble was Coal (who had been Chimchar) because he was lower leveled than the rest of my team.

The third trainer (a female Pokefan) offered me her number after I beat her. I was tempted to say 'no' but she managed to convince me. She claimed she went exploring a lot, sometimes bringing back rare items like Nuggets. She had no use for the large amount of money one could receive from selling them, so she just gave them away.

* That'll be useful when I'm low on cash ... *

I finished off the last trainer and then went into a gatehouse I hadn't been to before. A man stopped me and said I should know about the Bug catching contests. After a comprehensive recounting of how they worked, he left. There were supposed to be contests on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

* Too bad it's still Monday ... *

—- —- —-

On Route 36 (the route after continuing on from the National Park) Ash found me an Awakening. I captured Growlithe, Vulpix, and Stantler there. Before moving on I shook the apricorn tree and collected a blu apricorn.

I took down the first trainer pretty easily. Or rather, Coal did. The next one was a Schoolboy. After defeating him he mentioned he might be able to get me some Fire stones if I registered his number. There was the possibility of getting them with P points as well, but why not increase my chances?

* This could make it much easier anyway ... *

I agreed and typed his number into the Pokegear.

—- —- —-

As I was walking along the path, something fell out of my pack. A bottle was pressed into my hand, the Squirtbottle I realized as I felt along its surface.

(Aerron says you dropped this.)

"Thanks," I said, patting the pokemon's arm as he leaned into me.

(There is a weird-looking tree here,)

* What the hell? *

(Why don't you squirt the tree with water to see what happens? That's from Ash.)

* Why the fuck not? *

I did so, the tree starting to shake. I almost punched the thing in surprise as it moved and then cried out in anger.

"Sudowoodo!"

* I thought it was just a tree ... it's alive ... and it's a pokemon? *

The Sudowoodo was much stronger than I expected, but I managed to catch it with a Great ball in the end. It knew Low kick, Mimic, Rock throw, and Flail. I would eventually get to working with it, but not now.

A girl came up to me after the battle with the 'tree' and gave me some Berry pots, 3 Oran berries, and 3 Pecha berries. They were supposed to be a portable way of growing berries. One could put berries in the dirt inside the pot and grow more. It would take a little while, but eventually you'd be able to pluck what grew in the pot. I put all 4 of the Oran berries I had in the couple of pots the girl gave. I chose those since they were potentially useful, but not being used at the moment.

—- —- —-

Back where Sudowoodo had been I went down another path, not sure where it would lead just yet. Klefki reminded me I needed to go to Violet city to drop off the mail.

* How the hell do I get there from here? I am sure as fuck not walking or riding my bike all the way back through the cave and grass and such ... *

After using the map, I found out the path I was currently on led to Violet city. When I got there I healed at the 'center, switching Coal with Togepi. This would be temporary, Klefki'd told me about some trees I could Headbutt around here. I did so, snagging an Exeggcute. When that was done I was in the 'center once more, retrieving Monferno and putting Togepi back.

Route 31 was where I went next. I grabbed a Yellow apricorn before finding the man Kenya's mail (the Spearow) was supposed to go to. I untied the letter from the bird's leg and handed it to him. He was overjoyed, hugging me. I gently pulled his hands off me and stepped back.

"Sorry, here take this for your trouble,"

What he gave me was a tm, tm 44 to be exact. It was the move Rest, something that healed all hp and status problems, but had one drawback. The pokemon who used the move went to sleep, and unless you had a way around that it could cost you in a battle.

* Items could help with that if I decide to use it ... *

I went back to Violet city and stopped at the 'center before continuing on. I switched Gloom with Growlithe, naming him Guard. He was a dog, so it kinda fit. I also grabbed Kirlia, leaving Monferno in the pc. After doing that I made my way toward the next area.

—- —- —-

I picked up a Hyper potion, scanning the map and finding out I was near Route 37. I trained Guard a little, getting him to lv 15 before entering the route. I trained a little more and then went onto Route 37.

There were no pokemon I hadn't come across here, but there was one I found before and hadn't caught. Seeing as it was night time, the 'night' pokemon were out. Spinarak was added to my pc as I snatched it up. I got Growlithe to lv 17 before moving on along the route. He was coming along nicely, his Intimidate ability making training a lot easier since it cut the attack of almost anything it came across.

After defeating a trainer with a Drowzee, I came across some apricorn trees. I got 1 each of blk, blu, and red. I leveled up Guard to lv 18 and then continued along the route.

The last four trainers on the route were ... interesting. The way things ended up, I fought two double battles. One was a set of twins, the other a set of beauty queens. At least that's how Momo would have described the latter. After passing all of them, I was finally able to go into the next town: Ecruteak.

Silver, Monday, 18:30 (Route 36) —-

I had left Goldenrod after restocking on supplies. The phone call with Kimi had been only ten minutes before. I was definitely ready to leave though, and also looking forward to seeing Murasaki again.

I felt a little better about him now that I had some facts. I suspected there was more for me to learn and understand, but that would come in time. I just had to wait things out until I could muster the courage to call him.

On Route 35 I caught Nidoran M, a Poliwag, and a Nidoran F. None of them were ones I wanted to train at the moment. I made sure to evolve Gastly into Haunter while I was there though.

I still had the same team I'd used when I'd taken down Whitney. In the National park I got a Sunkern, not sure what to do with the thing until I could evolve it. I'd heard I needed a Sun stone for that, something which I could win during a Bug catching contest. Since it wasn't one of the days the contest was held, I left the little grass-type in the pc.

I wanted to go farther along Route 36 but was unable due to a tree being in the way. Something about it seemed off to me, it was almost like it was made of stone or something ...

* Maybe it is. Aren't there pokemon that pretend to be objects? *

In any case, I was stuck until something could be done about the tree.

Silver, Monday, 22:40 (Route 36) —-

While I was waiting for the path to be cleared, I caught some pokemon. A Vulpix (which I named Aki) and a Stantler joined my team. I rode the bike I'd gotten earlier (in Goldenrod) all the way back to Goldenrod to pick up the new additions for training. Haunter was replaced with Vulpix and Gloom was replaced by Stantler. Since there was no way to evolve the grass type yet, there was no point in keeping it with me.

I spent the time training while I waited. There were no other pokemon I really wanted on this route, so I didn't try capturing more. I focused on Vulpix the most, becoming very attached to the cute little fox very quickly. This was odd for me, Sneasel was the only pokemon I'd seriously bonded with so far. Stantler also was trained, both of them reaching lv 20.

At that point I looked up and the weird-looking tree was gone.

* It's time to go. *

I moved on to the next route (37) and beat up the trainers. I decided to catch a Spinarak (why the hell not?) Once all the trainers were defeated I made it to Ecruteak.

After healing my pokemon, I made a beeline for the gym.

* Let's get this over with now ... *

I was glad I'd caught Aki, she was the most useful in the battle against the leader, Morty. Other than Hypnosis, Stantler was pretty useless in the fight. Sneasel helped a lot too, the only other pokemon that really did.

The ghosts were stronger than I'd thought and I was unprepared for them. Thankfully Sneasel's dark-type move (Faint attack) and most of Vulpix's helped me compensate for that. It wasn't exactly easy, but I did win. After the battle I went to the Pokemon center and asked for a room for the night.

Murasaki, Tuesday, 0:15 (Ecruteak city) —-

The 'center was my first destination when I entered the new city. I healed my pokemon, pleased with the progress I'd made with them. Just as the nurse gave me back my pokemon running footsteps could be heard. A man (who the nurse called Bill) started talking rapidly about some computer project he'd been working on. I tuned them both out, not wanting to deal with drama at the moment.

Quilava was in his ball for once, having wanted a break from walking around so much. Klefki was still hanging from my neck, while Aerron had chosen to stay by my side. He was a solid weight against my shoulder at the moment. Guard escaped from his ball and rubbed up against my legs.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be out,"

The dog didn't seem to have heard me and started licking my hand. I put on a mock-exasperated face, but couldn't keep it there for long. A few minutes later I was kneeling on the ground scratching him behind the ears. Aerron was watching the people in the 'center, I could 'feel' how he was 'protecting' me.

* I'm glad he takes his job seriously, but he doesn't havta do it all the time ... *

The man who worked with computers came up to me about five minutes after I'd broken down and gotten on the floor with my dog.

"Hey, you're Murasaki Jeigar aren't you?"

I stiffened, rising to my feet and running a hand through my hair. Both pokemon noticed and started growling.

"Back off both of you," I said, wondering how much to say. I finally thought 'fuck it' and just went with the truth.

"I was Murasaki Jeigar, my dad disowned me recently,"

He made a sympathetic noise.

"That's too bad,"

"What do you want anyway? Does me losing the family name change it?"

"Actually I was wondering if you could look at some equipment for me later. Word in the computing business is that you can take apart and 'fix' almost anything electronic."

I smirked. "Maybe. What's in it for me?"

"Hmmm, come to my place in Goldenrod and I'll see what I can do,"

And then he left. Before doing so however, he gave me directions to his house.

—- —- —-

It took a little while, but I finally made it back to Goldenrod on my bike. The bird who I'd delivered the letter with was returned to his master in the gatehouse when I went by. I hadn't done any training on the way, but I had been thinking. Since I wasn't currently using it, why keep the Gyarados with me? It was a strong water-type, but there was no reason to use it at the moment. He went into the pc, and I left the last slot blank, unsure what I wanted to train next.

I rode the short distance to Bill's and left Ash outside to guard the bike. He was probably bored anyway, he'd never stayed in his ball for very long.

—- —- —-

"So did you figure out how to pay me? Sorry man, but I don't do anything mechanical or computer-related for free. It just isn't worth it."

"I have an idea yeah. I don't get paid for another couple days, but I have a pokemon I can give you."

I raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"An Eevee was running around the Ecruteak Pokemon center earlier. I'm not a trainer so I don't know what to do with it. Will you take care of it?"

I smiled, I'd wanted to try out Eevee and its evolutions for a few years now. After what I'd read about them, they would definitely be worth it. I'd use the Ditto I'd caught to breed more Eevee when I was ready.

"Sure,"

"Here you go, he's kinda shy," a girl said as she came up to me.

"Murasaki this is my cousin Mara. Mara this is the computer guy I told you about."

"Hi," she said, seeming a little nervous.

* Does she want me to hold it? *

(She is giving you a look like she expects you to do something.)

I sighed inwardly, going over to the girl and touching what was hopefully her arm. It was. I ran my fingers across her skin lightly, finally finding something furry in her arms. I gently lifted it and cradled it against my chest.

A sound that reminded me of purring came from the thing's throat.

"He hasn't been that friendly to anyone since you brought him here Bill-y."

"I know Mar, I think this was a good match-up."

Aerron lay his head on my shoulder and growled softly. The noise was one of contentment, not irritation or anger.

"Can I work on this machine for ya tomorrow? It's pretty late and I'm exhausted from all the training and traveling I did today."

"Sure," Bill said.

"here, take his number for later," Mara said, putting a piece of paper in my hand. I put the paper in my pocket and left.

—- —- —-

At the 'center, I asked for a room.

* I wasn't going to stay here tonight, but since it's so late and I don't wanna ride anymore tonight might as well ... *

In the room I stripped to my boxers and undid the chain around my neck, placing it on a corner of the pillow. I smiled fondly as I remembered who I switched Monferno with. Kirlia was back on my team for the moment. I was looking forward to working with him again.

Klefki was asleep so quick I'd have worried if I didn't know what he'd been doing all day. Though he didn't battle much (or at all that day) he translated and watched for me. Aerron nudged my shoulder as I lay down on the bed. I frowned, trying to pick out individual emotions from the aura I could feel from him. Since this wasn't exactly my 'usual method,' I had no idea what I was doing. I would have no choice but to learn at some point though, I only rarely 'felt' feelings from him using my psychometric powers.

I finally gave up, asking a question out loud.

"Do you wanna sleep out of your ball tonight?"

He nuzzled my neck, something I was too tired to be worried about. He lay his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around me from behind. The Eevee I'd gotten from Bill struggled a few times (I could hear him trying) and finally managed to jump onto the bed. The little guy climbed onto my chest and I wrapped my arms around him, closing my eyes as sleep took me.


	9. Chapter 9

* * * chapter VIII * * *

\- Burnt Tower, Seeing Silver, and Ghost's Lair -

Silver, Tuesday, 9:30 (Ecruteak city) —-

After taking a shower and feeding myself and the pokemon, I rode back to Goldenrod city on my bike. I had Sneasel, Croconaw, Vulpix, Sandslash, Stantler, and Kadabra with me. I didn't need to change any of them out just yet, so I made my way to the counter where I could take care of the reason I was here.

I asked the nurse if any packages had come this morning. When she asked what my name was I said 'hunter.' It was an alias I'd used on missions with Team R, something both my contact and Kimi knew about. Before the nurse could answer, a girl with bright green hair that was woven with yellow and blue flowers motioned for me to follow her. Knowing this was Lanie I did, making sure to ride my bike on the way. It was slower, but she walked while I rode.

—- —- —-

"Stop here," the girl said as she pointed to a house-like building. I knew it for what it was though: the Goldenrod Underground.

* Why are we going in there? *

I sighed, getting off the bike and pulling out Kadabra's poke ball. I let him out, giving him instructions to watch the bike and Teleport inside the building to find me if someone managed to run off with it somehow. I had money, but I didn't want to pay for another bike if I didn't have to.

After that was done I followed Lanie inside. She nodded to people we passed, seeming uninterested in any of them. Finally, she stopped in front of a blank wall that was nowhere near anybody and tapped it. She pulled out a poke ball and released a Hypno, telling it to use Psychic on the wall. After a minute of nothing happening a panel in the wall appeared and she tapped a space, revealing a keypad. After typing in some commands, (which her Hypno blocked from my view by standing in front of me) a door slid open.

"Come on in," the girl said as she walked through the door. I shrugged, knowing I could battle to get out if necessary (confident in my ability to do so) and went in. The door slid shut with a soft hiss, locking from the inside. I glanced at it curiously, wondering if it was now hidden behind ... whatever hid it before.

* I never knew about this place ... Of course, this is the first time I've been to Johto. *

"What do you think?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Too much of a theatrical entrance, but at least it seems to be hard enough to find."

She snorted, giving me a hard stare.

"What? You asked. Has being out of contact with me for the last two years made you forget how I respond to questions?"

She sighed. "I'd hoped you'd be a little more ... tactful by now. You were always so direct and to the point I wondered how you did so well with Team R in the first place."

* That's because missions used to matter. I could hold back my ... personality most of the time for those. *

I glared at her.

"The package?"

She sighed. "Here it is. I was a little surprised since I haven't heard from you since I moved my operations to Goldenrod."

I pocketed the wrapped package, I'd look at the data later.

Lanie gave me a searching look.

"You look well Hunter. You still working with Team R?"

I took some time to think about my answer.

* Should I tell her? If I do, she can't compromise me or hurt me by knowing. *

"I'm ... not working with them anymore."

I was bothered by the way my voice sounded; almost hesitant, but still speaking truth.

* Murasaki would want me to tell the truth. I can ... somewhat trust her right? *

She grinned, moving toward me to no doubt hug me. I shied back, Sneasel letting out his claws as she approached.

"Still cautious and anti-touchy-feely as ever huh Hunter? I was going to pat you on the back by the way. I'm glad you left."

I gave her a strange look.

"Why?"

She smirked, rolling her eyes.

"Do you really think I'd want a kid like you to be a part of that?"

* You're a kid too by that definition. *

Out loud I said:

"And?"

"I'm not part of Team R either. I'm a consultant for the Cops - I specialize in black market trading."

* You know, that actually explains a lot. *

"What do you trade in?"

She snickered. "Still using what little facts you can get I see. I never said I was 'trading' just that I have experience in it."

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to play any of her little games today.

"We both know you are still trading so cut the bullshit."

She huffed, but her face turned serious finally.

"I trade in pokemon - sometimes very rare pokemon. I buy and sell them for real cheap."

I raised an eyebrow.

"And the cops approve of this?"

"They do actually, as long as I make sure I tell them when I get a rare one. There are 'common' rare, which are just rarer pokemon, or 'uncommon' rare, which are those that are special in some way."

I nodded, listening to her speak. I could see Sneasel rolling his eyes out of the corner of my eye.

"So you what, acquire them somehow and then make sure they get to another part of the country?"

"More or less. If I get an injured or traumatized pokemon I make sure it gets taken off the market right away and put into the hands of someone who can take care of it properly. That, is why the police trust me."

I rolled my eyes again.

"Ok, so why are you telling me all this? I could just go back to Team R and let them know their trader works for the cops."

She made a rude gesture.

"You're not with them, you won't."

I smirked a shark's grin.

"My father is,"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really think I'd fall for that? Why are you giving yourself away anyway? You may not be with Team R anymore, but I could use your identity against you now that I know it."

* Shit that was stupid. Maybe spending so much time around Murasaki is making my training slip. She's right, I should be more careful. *

"Well, the name of the director isn't widely known."

"I know it though: as an informant-consultant for the cops I can get information as payment. Don't think I can't Silver."

* Looks like my cover's blown. Luckily I never dressed like I normally do around her. A little surprised she noticed it was me so quick with this get-up. *

I was still wearing the clothes I'd purchased in Cherrygrove all those days ago. The color was a little more tolerable, but still felt wrong.

"So you know who I am, what will you do with the information?"

"Nothing unless you double-cross me. Your secret's safe with me Hunter."

* And now we're back to that. What's her game? *

She giggled. "Do your lovers call you that too? 'Oh Hunter take me harder.'"

I shrugged. "Wouldn't care either way since I don't get that close to people."

She frowned. "That's just sad."

I gave her a frustrated look.

"So, why bring up this trading ring of yours? Do you have something to trade?"

She smiled at me, going over to a large storage chest. She came back with two poke balls. One was black and white with a silver C on it and the other was the normal red and white.

"You might be interested in these two. I have a Mudkip and a Houndour here I just got yesterday."

I screwed up my face into a scowl.

"What makes you think you know me so well?"

She shrugged. "Let's see ... with your personality, even if it's a front, you would probably pick Totodile as a starter am I right?"

* What the fuck? How did she do that? *

I grunted in reply.

"Ok, so if you chose the water type, you'd be looking for fire types now ..."

* Right again, but I already have one. *

She groaned, glaring at me.

"At least tell me if I'm right."

"Right with both,"

"Ok, so if you had a chance to get another strong water type would you take it?"

I thought for a moment, another strong water-type would be useful.

"Maybe, what type is this 'houndour' you mentioned?"

"Fire,"

"I'll take them both,"

"I'll need two pokemon to trade for them. They can be anything, just be aware that you won't get them back."

I nodded. "I can find two to trade."

"Great! I'll meet you back at the Pokemon center in a little while."

—- —- —-

I went to the Pokemon center (recalling Kadabra on the way) and booted up a free pc.

* Hmmm ... I have Beedrill, Fearow, Flaafy, Bellsprout, Noctowl, Haunter, Magikarp, Gloom, Parasect, Butterfree, Zubat, Heracross, Drowzee, Krabby, Nidoran M, Nidoran F, Poliwag, and Spinarak. That's just the pc, I also have Croconaw, Kadabra, Sneasel, Stantler, Vulpix, and Sandslash. *

I went out to Route 34 to catch something I would trade.

* Even that Zubat can evolve into a decent pokemon after the first evolution. *

I ended up grabbing a Drowzee and a Rattata.

As I walked back into the Pokemon center, I spotted Lanie. I nodded to her and went to switch out my pokemon. I kept Sneasel and Aki, wanting the two pokemon I'd really connected to with me. Stantler and Kadabra stayed as well. Sadly Croconaw and Sandslash were the ones I chose to put in the pc.

* I like you - you're really strong Croconaw, but I'd like to try out this new water type for a while. *

"Got what you want?" the girl asked when I turned around.

I nodded. "Let's go,"

She led me back to her place, an office she called it. It was a tiny room with a desk, a filing cabinet, that container she'd gotten the poke balls from, and a couch. She gestured for me to sit on the couch as she slid open a drawer from the file cabinet and rummaged inside.

Sneasel curled up at my feet, alert despite putting on an air of boredom.

* At least someone remembers their training ... I've gotta really work on that. Hell, I shoulda used Hunter when I gave Murasaki my name ... what the fuck's wrong with me? *

A voice in the back of my mind whispered that I was falling in love, but I shoved it back. For the longest time, I was worried about something like that happening (a real fear when I first came to father's mansion) but now it was just something to worry about. I just hoped that my heart, if not my mind, had chosen the right person.

"Here we are, let's get this started." Lanie said as she put down a small table and an antique-looking transfer machine. I'd seen one of these before while ... I had no idea where, but it seemed familiar to me.

* Is this something that goes with the gaps in my memory? *

Before I could think further on that a sharp pain lanced through my brain and I felt myself slipping away ...

—- —- —-

I slowly blinked my eyes open, Sneasel's concerned face just inches from mine. I reached out, pulling him onto my chest as I tried to look around. My vision was foggy, but regaining its usual clarity slowly.

"Good you're up. You really scared me back there Hunter," a voice said.

I winced and shut my eyes again.

* Lanie I think ... why does sound hurt so much? *

"I think you either hit your head at some point in the last few days or have some suppressed memory that I triggered."

* M-memory? *

"Memory?"

She handed me a glass of something and went on.

"Yeah. That's the reaction some of the Team R members I've had as clients gave when they saw this machine. They say it reminds them of ... the old labs, whatever that means."

* What the hell is she talking about? *

"You might wanna drink that, it's tea that helps with migraines, which, if you're like any of the others, you have right now."

I did notice extreme pain ... worse than any headache i'd had up to this point. It was hard to focus with sounds so loud and warped and my mind still fuzzy.

I saw the image of an indistinct man and a little girl with blue eyes before I forced my eyes open.

I drank the tea, feeling a bit better.

"Feel any better?"

I smiled slightly.

"Yeah," I croaked out.

"Good, I can get this trade over with if you give me the poke balls. What did you decide on anyway?"

Sneasel pulled at my belt, which I fumbled to take off. Finally the thing came off and I handed it to him. He extracted the right balls and put them on the table, placing the belt next to me on the couch.

* Glad he's always been good at telling which balls contain which pokemon ... *

"Ok ... thanks."

I downed some more tea and gestured for Sneasel to jump onto my lap. I rubbed his shoulder with my free hand as I watched the girl.

"Drowzee and Rattata,"

"What?" she asked, the machine starting to make an annoying whirring noise.

* At least it's not as loud as things were when I first woke up. *

"Drowzee and Rattata, the two pokemon I gave you,"

"Ah, thanks for the info. I have a client who wants a Drowzee anyway, so that'll help."

I chuckled, noting my voice was going back to its normal sound as well.

"So, where are these two from anyway?"

"The Mudkip is the starter from Hoenn, gotten from a man who was passing through here looking for a place to hide it. Says he found it wandering about in his backyard, but saw some guys in white lurking around and thought they might be looking for it."

I nodded, finishing off the tea.

"The other one is from Johto, at least it's supposed to be. The girl who brought it over said it was bred from a Houndoom - its evolution - found near Celadon city."

* Why would a Johto-oriented pokemon be in Kanto? *

I would know, Kanto is where I'd spent most of the last - ten? - years of my life. I was pretty sure it was ten, but with the gaps in my memory from early childhood there was no way to be sure.

A few minutes later the poke balls with my new pokemon were put on the table.

"Be aware that the Mudkip was acting strange when I let it out for the usual examination I give before trading. It cowered when I held up a leaf, ran away when I showed it a lightning bolt, and tried to attack me when it saw a fire ball. These were all pictures of course, but rather extreme reactions even with the types its strong and weak against. It should battle fine, but you might havta work on those."

She tossed the ball to me and I caught it.

"The Houndour is a different story. The Attack reader I used on it swears it can use Psychic and Air cutter."

* The hell? *

"I know what you're thinking, and this isn't the first time I've seen something like this. Usually though, the pokemon is just stronger than it should be, and can use say Strength at its lowest form. I got a Charmander that could use Strength once."

I frowned. "But why are they like that?"

"I have no idea, but you should be careful about how you use these moves. I would keep them out of official battles if I were you: no gym battles with them unless absolutely necessary."

I nodded.

"I am guessin' you are trying to keep a low profile." she said, pointing to my clothes.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked, feeling defensive.

The outfit was the best I could find, and the color was definitely something I would never wear.

"I meant it was good. I thought you hated blue though?"

I growled under my breath.

"I do."

"This is all settled then. Can you leave now if you don't have any more to trade?"

It was a question, but I knew this to mean she wanted me out. She'd used a similar line the last time I met up with her, for information that time.

"Silver," she called as I was leaving.

I turned around, fastening my belt into place as I stopped.

"Yeah?"

"I have connections for this operation and my information-gathering all over the Great regions. If you need a certain pokemon I can get it. I chip the pokemon so I can track where they go. I think I can trust you now that you are ex-Rocket ... right?"

I nodded. "You can."

She gave me her number and then I left.

—- —- —-

Back at the Pokemon center I put the chip Kimi sent into my laptop. After setting up three very different passwords on it I opened up the first file. This one, on Changelings, held nothing I could use.

* Not even a mention of Murasaki ... *

The Pokemorph file was much the same.

* Hope the last one can lead me in a direction I can use at least. *

The file on Project Alpha actually did have some interesting information. It was spelled Alfa though, which I was sure Kimi had miss-pronounced on purpose in case she was overheard or monitored.

* This one must have been really important if she was afraid of having her phone tapped and had to say the name wrong. *

Sometimes, Team R would tap the phones of their operatives. The devices were the organization's property of course, and thus it was allowed (in the contract all employees signed when they joined up).

* Why wasn't she using code all the time then? *

It took a while, but I finally read all I could on Project Alfa. Kimi had made a note that she put smaller files on the chip that were so encrypted she couldn't open them, so I went to work on one of those next. The information in the first file was rather basic, listing what the idea was and when the project took place.

* It was twelve years ago ... and what's with their fascination with psychic powers? *

Murasaki, Tuesday, 9:05 (Goldenrod city) —-

I woke and showered, letting everyone out so they could eat while I did. Once I was dressed (not wearing the Dowsers) I recalled all but Eevee, Lucario, and Klefki. Ash said he wanted to ride in a ball again, which I wasn't going to argue.

* I hope someone else can find items for me while he's in his ball. *

—- —- —-

At Bill's I took apart an old pc. He said he was the one who'd made the very first pc in Kanto, some years back. This one was that machine, but it currently wasn't working. It took a few hours, (in which all pokemon but Klefki were put away to keep me from getting distracted) but I did finish the job. As I was re-assembling it Bill came over. He'd been in another room doing something on his computer (or at least that's what he'd said he was doing).

"How's it going?"

I rubbed grease from my hands onto my pants and shrugged.

"I'm almost finished. Just need to put it back together. Never worked on something like this before, but I re-wired most of it, so it should work."

He hummed in agreement.

"Word is you're really good, so I'm sure it will."

I chuckled, knowing he was probably right.

* I'll need another shower after this ... *

"So how's the Eevee I gave you?"

On queue the laser-like sound of a pokemon escaping its ball was heard. In fact, there were two of those. The first was the Eevee, which yipped happily and rubbed up against my pants. The second was Aerron, who growled in greeting, but didn't touch me.

(He says you smell awful, but he still loves you.)

* Oh gee thanks Aerron ... *

I smiled a little.

"As you can see, the Eevee is happy."

"Yeah, he really seems to like you. Given him a name yet?"

I shook my head, grimacing at how gross my hair felt. I'd gotten both grease and oil on it at some point, probably when I had to take apart the unit's inside. The thing was very old, almost as big as me, and much easier to take apart than I'd originally thought.

* Thank Arceus ... *

I slid the last parts into place and stood up.

"Guess I'll be going now."

"Wait!" Mara said as she ran into the room.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Bill-y you still want him to have this right?"

"Yes Mar."

* Want me to have what? *

"Should I give it to one of your pokemon to carry until you can get cleaned up?" the girl asked.

"You can wash your hands and face in the bathroom down the hall," Bill said.

I went to do that, coming back as quickly as I could.

"Here, it's tm 29 Psychic, we found it in a box Bill-y had lying around." the girl said, giving it to me.

* I can definitely use this ... *

I thanked them both (telling Bill he could call me for another job whenever) and left.

I carried Eevee, putting him on my lap as I rode the bike back to the 'center. I went back to the room (which I hadn't checked out of yet) and showered again. I also soaked my current outfit in water for a while, then had Ash dry it off for me. I put the newly cleaned clothes and boots on before picking up anything I'd left lying around. After that I gave the key to the nurse and got onto my bike, the normal-type riding on my lap while Aerron ran beside me. He said it would be good training and I wasn't going to argue with that.

—- —- —-

In Ecruteak Klefki had something to say.

(There is a large house here, can you go inside for me?)

"Ah hell, I hope there aren't too many people in there."

(If there are you have permission to yell at me.)

"As long as we're clear on that, sure."

(We are,)

I made it inside, leaving Blitz to watch the bike.

(There is a sign on a stage that says 'kimono girls studio')

"Hmmm ... guess that first one was right, that is if they're here,"

(There is a Rocket grunt here. He's arguing with one of the Kimono girls,)

* Not them again ... *

Eevee yipped in anger when Klefki said this.

(I think he knows some of the girls, he seems very ... familiar ... watching the girl he's talking to like a Fearow on the hunt ... but more like a Protector than Hunter.)

* That's ... interesting. Maybe he should stay then ... *

As if he'd heard my thoughts, Eevee nuzzled my arm, making that purring noise I'd heard last night. He was still in my arms, apparently his preferred position.

(He says he wants to stay with you - he will fight for it if necessary.)

* Well that solves that issue ... *

By the time I was done thinking about that, the voices of the Rocket and what must have been one of the girls had stopped. I could have listened in, but didn't care enough.

Eevee bit my arm, something which surprised me so much I dropped him.

(He's alright, but he's running toward the stage.)

* Fuck ... *

I ran after him, glad I'd given him the Lucky egg before leaving the 'center.

* If you wanna fight then bring it on! *

When I got there the normal type was growling and the man was grunting in irritation.

"That one's mine. Why are you here?" I asked the grunt.

Klefki'd told me that the grunts and Proton wore different uniforms when I faced Team rocket in Azalea, so when he said this one was a 'grunt' I believed him.

"Doesn't matter ... let's battle!"

I nodded. "You're on!"

The battle was pretty easy in theory, but since Eevee was fighting a lv 12 Koffing it was more difficult than I'd thought it might be. Thankfully he knew Tackle. He was fast too, which helped since the Koffing knew Poison gas and could have poisoned him. He managed to avoid all the gas and come out on top, leveling 3 levels afterward. I was proud of him, the normally sweet and cuddly little guy was learning to fight.

Aerron popped free of his ball after the fighting was over and growled at the grunt, (he'd taken a little rest after I arrived at the city) which I knew because Klefki told me.

(He is happy for the baby, but angry the guy is still standing around. I think he has had contact with Team R or something like them before.)

* Could be ... *

After about a minute of Aerron's growling, Eevee's growling, (which was more cute than menacing) and the glare I aimed in his direction the grunt finally left. I stepped off the stage once he was gone, glad that was over with.

(A man is coming up to you. He is wearing fancy clothes.)

"Thank you for taking care of that," he said.

I ran a hand through my hair.

"Does this happen often?"

"No, the guy just came in here and started making demands." a girl's voice said.

"Mistress you should be practicing." the man said.

"I can handle this myself Kenta. I may be the youngest, but I am capable enough."

"Of course, Mistress,"

"You may go Kenta,"

The man walked off.

(He went into another room,)

"Thank you once again. Here, take this for your trouble, it's hm 03 Surf."

A disc was placed in my hands.

"Thanks," I said as I pulled the tm and hm case from my pack.

The newest addition was added, then the whole thing was returned to the pack.

"I am sure we will see you again. Oh before I forget! You can keep that Eevee, but let me help you out first,"

The girl picked up the normal type (Klefki told me) and went into another room.

A few minutes later she and the normal type came back, the latter running.

"I helped him learn the move Mimic, it will help a lot." the girl said as they arrived.

Eevee rubbed up against me and I picked him up.

"My name is Kikiu. I am sure I will see you again. You can call me by this number if you wish to learn how to dance." she said as she gave me a piece of paper.

* Why would I wanna learn how ta dance? *

Out loud I said:

"Dance?"

"Yes, you know martial arts do you not?"

I nodded.

"Dancing will help you with that. I also know gymnastics as well,"

I blinked a few times, still confused.

"They will ... how do you say ... Ah! Augment your fighting."

* Makes sense ... I think ... *

"I'll call you some time."

"I can help with pokemon as well,"

—- —- —-

Once outside, I used the map to see what was in and around Ecruteak. It turned out there was another route if I went through a gatehouse at the rightmost part of the city. I did so, stepping out onto the dirt-packed ground. As I was trying to get onto the route (42) a man came up to me. He gave me hm 04 Strength before leaving. I also found tm 79 Dark pulse, which I taught to Lucario. I took the time to teach Kirlia Psychic and Growlithe Dig while I was there.

I made my way back to Ecruteak after that. I'd wanted to stay and do some training, but Klefki convinced me otherwise. The key-pokemon was obsessed with houses, I swear, which I mentioned when he asked me to go into another one. He didn't seem bothered by the complaint, just urged me onward.

The house he brought me to was between the 'center and the gym. Inside a man gave me a Dowsing machine, which would replace Quilava whenever he was in his ball or in the pc (if I ever decided to put him in there). Through colors and sounds, it was made to show you where items were, whether they were 'hidden' or not. Up until this point Ash had found all hidden items for me.

* Good thing I have this thing then. Think I'll take it apart later to work on it though. *

Outside the house I held the thing, getting images and a few memories from the guy I'd just talked to. He must have used the machine a lot, since there was so much for me to sort through. It all gave me a headache, so I pulled out the notebook I was currently writing and drawing in, letting my fingers and the pencil do the purging I needed.

* The Dowsers were nice while they lasted, but I gotta do things the old-fashioned way now. *

After the 'purge' of words and memories, I had a comprehensive guide (with pictures) of how to use the thing. I turned it on and Klefki directed me to the first item, a Hyper potion.

Ash popped out of his ball after I found the Hyper potion. His flames roared as he ran off. Eevee jumped down and ran after him. They both came back with an Ether and a Rare candy. Each pokemon gave me an item, and I thanked them both. I started toward the Burnt tower next.

—- —- —-

A man who called himself Eusine came up to me as I entered the building. Ash and Eevee ran off somewhere while he talked. They came back just as the man was finishing telling me about the Legendary dogs, both tugging on my pant leg. I laughed a little, said goodbye to the man, and went to collect what they'd found.

It turned out they'd gathered 1 Antidote, 1 hp up, 1 Ultra ball, and 1 Ether. Klefki told me there were stairs here, so I started down them. As I did I felt odd, almost like there was something I should recognize nearby. It almost felt ... comforting?

* This is really fuckin' weird. *

Silver, Tuesday, 13:20 (Burned tower) —-

I'd been busy. After reading what I could and decoding what I could, I rode back to Ecruteak. I caught a Mankey from Route 42 (for later training) and then went and snagged a Magnemite and a Meowth from Route 38.

* Could've used this little normal type in the gym battle last night. *

I did a little training before going to the Burned tower.

Inside I walked onto the stairs, wondering if I'd see Murasaki soon. I was carrying Croconaw again, having put the Mudkip in the pc after training it a little.

* If I were him, I'd train here. I should have last night actually. *

He showed up as I'd thought, Eusine, (a man who'd told me about the Legendary dog pokemon when I came in) talking to him. I almost felt ... jealous of the man.

* He doesn't know him, it must be easy to talk to him. *

Not that I'd rather not know him, but ... I wasn't sure what to say to the guy.

—- —- —-

"Ready for a re-match?" I asked, using that as a jab.

He'd won last time, but I wanted to see if I could get a rise out of him. He seemed so ... focused all the time (not like my control but similar in some ways) that I wanted to see his mask of 'focused' break. No such luck.

"You're on,"

"Go! Aki!"

"Aki?" the other boy asked.

I smirked. "Vulpix,"

"Go Growlithe!"

* Two fire types ... did he do that on purpose? *

"Quick attack,"

"Odor sleuth,"

"What?" I asked, never having heard of that move.

"Now Bite,"

The attack hit somehow, even though Vulpix was running so fast I could barely see her.

* Ok something else then ... *

"Confuse ray,"

"Dodge,"

The attack hit anyway, the dog-pokemon starting to ram its head against the ground.

"Growlithe!"

Nothing.

"Growlithe!"

Still nothing.

On the last try of him calling his pokemon it snapped out of confusion.

* Damn. *

"Dig,"

* Shit, if that does what I think it does, we're fucked. *

"Ready Confuse ray and don't use it till I tell you,"

I waited anxiously for the dog to come out of the hole it had created.

When it did it slammed into Aki, knocking her over. She didn't consciously let loose her attack, but it fired anyway. The dog hit its head against the ground and then fell unconscious, Aki doing so at the same time.

"Wasn't expecting that. Draw?"

I knew it was, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

"Yeah,"

"Go! Stantler!"

"Your turn Aerron!"

* Aerron? *

Aerron it turned out was a Lucario.

* Those are supposed to be rare, you're lucky. *

"Hypnosis,"

"Dodge,"

* Nice try. *

"Run after it,"

"Hypnosis again,"

"Dodge again and use Mind reader,"

* What the hell? *

"Follow it,"

"Use your speed to get away and then use Hi jump kick,"

* Shit ... if that hits we're done. *

The attack did land, but thankfully Stantler was still going. It was very close though, he was barely conscious. Something strange happened as I watched. The Lucario was staring at the Stantler, a glazed look in its eyes. I laughed darkly.

"You're going to lose this round,"

"Why's that?"

"Your Lucario is staring at my Stantler. Don't you know what happens when someone stares at them too long?"

He shook his head.

"They get so distracted they cannot do anything to stop attacks. Stomp!"

"Move,"

Of course, the Lucario didn't and Stantler slammed into it.

* Damnit I'd hoped that would do more damage. Oh right, it's part steel-type ... *

It did appear that the attack knocked the pokemon back to reality though.

* Unfortunately for me ... *

"Return,"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Just watch,"

Stantler just stood there, seemingly fascinated by the projectiles soaring at him. I wasn't sure if the pokemon were interested in each other sexually or that they just found each other fascinating. Either way Stantler wouldn't move, even when prompted to do so.

The heart-projectiles hit their target. The normal-type fell over hard, its eyes closing.

* What was that I said about winning this round? *

Murasaki, between third and fourth round (Burned tower) —-

"Hell, that was weird," I heard Silver say as Aerron walked up and lay his head on my shoulder.

(The boy is glaring at Aerron.)

I snorted. "Not jealous of a pokemon now are you Hunter?"

* Why did I call him that? *

I 'felt' something from him then, maybe a recent memory. It showed a girl with green hair talking to him and calling him 'hunter.'

* That's weird though, I didn't know he was called that till now. He does seem like one to me though: the way he practically held me down and devoured my mouth yesterday ... and he seems to not wanna give up ... *

"Why did you call me that? Did your ... powers tell you?"

"It sorta fit, the way you were actin' yesterday and kinda now, but yes, my powers did tell me. Curiously though, it was after I'd said it that I found out."

He growled lowly, but I heard it as if it had been full-volume.

"What? It's not like I can control this shit man. And don't tell anyone else, but it's been getting stronger again lately."

"Stronger? Is this what they did to you when you were kidnapped?"

* Wrong thing to say ... *

Before I knew it, I'd slammed a wall of negativity at him, knowing because of how his emotions scattered at my shove, and also by the 'feel' of pain I picked up from him.

* Well ya shouldn't have brought that up. I told ya so you could find out, I didn't wanna talk about it, but you just had ta bring it up didn't you? *

(He seems ... remorseful. Don't hit him with ... whatever that was again. He looks guilty, sorry, and in a lot of pain.)

"Hard to care right now," I mumbled.

(AT least hear him out.)

"Fine," I muttered.

"Say what you're goin' ta now before I do that again."

I growled myself, making sure he'd hear it.

"That was probably the stupidest thing ya coulda done ..."

He gasped as a smaller push of negative emotions hit him. This time though I had no control over it.

* Shit I'll be in a rage if I don't stop this ... *

"I - thought - you couldn't - hur ..."

I moved fast, my hand finding his shoulder and squeezing hard.

"I normally can't, but when I'm angry or hurting myself it's hard to stop from doing it. You can help though I think ..."

"W-what can I do?" he asked, obviously still in pain.

I bit my lip.

"Distract me by doing what you did yesterday."

I knew how bad of an idea that was (we needed to discuss things at least) but I didn't have any other options. To my knowledge aura could only do so much (which ruled out Aerron's involvement) and none of the others could do anything. Klefki's talking wasn't helping obviously and pokemon weren't supposed to harm humans.

* Shit this is a bad idea ... *

I dug the hole even deeper after another blast (this one stronger than the last) hit. I was already shaking with the emotional pain (what I felt and what he was feeling) but I could still feel his body shake under my hand.

"W-what do I have to do do?"

I bit my lip again.

"Dominate the fuck outta me. I know you're probably not ready for more than yesterday, which is fine, as long as you don't let me keep control."

* And unfortunately with how things are going I won't have time to explain more before I seriously hurt you ... *

"And you have maybe ... a minute or two before this gets much worse ..."

I could feel the power boiling inside me, just waiting to come out and do more damage.

Suddenly I was slammed against a wall, my wrists pinned above my head. Silver's lips practically crushed mine as he dove in, taking what I didn't want to acknowledge was his. It had been this whole time, but I was just too afraid of him treating me like a freak to let it happen. Even if I hadn't been turned into a fucking nightmare of a Psychometric that dangerously bordered on Emotional Render (which did just what it says, 'rend' emotions) my back story as an abductee could cause him to treat me like ... like I was damaged. Which honestly, I wouldn't be able to stand. That alone, would make me lash out even worse than being treated like a freak.

He shoved me against the wall, (which should not have been possible since I was already plastered against the thing) and kept on going. One of us would need to stop for air soon, and I was pretty sure it wouldn't be me. I tried to break free so I could touch him, but he tightened his grip on my wrists. When I tried again, pushing a weak burst of negative emotions at him purposefully, his grip tightened so much I thought I'd become lightheaded.

My wrists exploded with pain, but instead of making me cry out and fight, my body responded in other ways. I felt myself grow hard almost instantly, my body beginning to shake with pleasure. A moan escaped my mouth and was swallowed by the other boy. He pressed himself closer, his knee grinding against my cock deliciously.

All I could think was 'fuck.' I had no idea if I wanted him to take me right here, or if I was just overwhelmed. He kept grinding, but eventually pulling back to breath. And that's when my powers were gathered (not of my own doing) and shoved into him. He collapsed against me, not dead at least, I could tell that for sure. I had no idea if he was still conscious though.

* Please be awake. I can't stop this and I think you can ... *

He grabbed me by the neck and squeezed, his free hand sliding down until it reached the buckle at my belt.

* Good idea ... * I thought hazily.

He fumbled with the belt one handed for a moment and then yanked the buckle free. His hand undid the button quickly, slipping inside my pants to slowly glide along the length of my cock.

* Holy fuck ... *

Never in my wildest dreams had I thought he would initiate this. This confused boy, one I wasn't sure of where orientation was concerned, was touching my cock. Even in the more ... graphic dreams I'd thought he would only start after I did something.

* Guess I was wrong ... *

The choke hold loosened and he sucked on my ear hard, making me buck up into his hand and wish he really could do me right there. I'd never had lovers, but had played around. I knew for a fact that my ears were extremely sensitive, something I was sure he'd exploit right now.

* Don't think I'd care soooo much if he did ... *

His strokes got firmer and surer as he continued to suck on my ear. When he added nips and bites to that I lost it, moaning out loud and not caring who heard. I could 'feel' Aerron's protective nature kicking in on the periphery, but could do nothing about it. If anything, he'd keep other people (and pokemon) away.

All too soon I felt a white-hot sensation in my stomach and my balls drew up, ready to dump their load. As I felt this however, something blocked the release.

* He's ... stoppin' me? *

"No," he growled.

My first response was to force him to let go by pushing more negative emotions at him, but a sharp bite to my ear stopped that thought.

"You want more, you do it my way,"

"W-what do you want Hunter?" I practically growled, the frustration evident.

"You to listen to me,"

"What. do. you. want?"

"Stop hurting me and wait till I tell you you can cum,"

I growled again, but he kept me from hurting him again with another bite.

"You want all of this to stop, I can leave right now,"

"The fuck you will!"

"That's what I thought. You want more of this,"

He emphasized his point with a nice firm stroke to my cock and then rubbed and massaged my slit a little.

"You wait,"

"Why?" I nearly whined.

"I want to hear more noises from you," was all he said in response.

I growled again, but didn't try to fight him when he started stroking me again, his other hand now wrapped tightly enough around the base of my cock to keep me from cumming.

"Fuckin, sadist," I said, not really meaning it so much as being annoyed I had to wait.

"You won't be saying that soon," he purred into my ear.

* And you've never done this before ... hard to believe ... *

Eventually he let me cum, sucking the tip into his mouth. I was tempted to try and shove him off - there was no way he was ready for that - but he wouldn't allow it. Just as I went to try, he pinned my wrists again. I felt a whimper pass through my lips as I spilled inside his mouth. I had to give him credit at least, he knew exactly what to do to get me off and did it. He even knew what to do to keep me from fighting - use pain and keep me from getting what I wanted at all costs - and still managed to come out on top.

* Well, I wouldn't call sucking and swallowing on top, but he is holding me the fuck down while doing it ... *

When I was clean (more credit there since he drank everything down) he pulled back and zipped me up. He also did up the belt. The grip on my wrists tightened once more, a whimper slipping out of me before I could stop it.

"You want more of this you behave damnit. That means no more hurting me like this ya got it?"

I forced myself to nod, all I wanted to do was beg him to fuck me.

* He did everything I want in a lover ... this is way too good to be true ... *

"Ryu?" he asked, the name striking a cord inside me. It meant dragon.

* Mom called me that once, before she started ignoring me ... *

I bit my lip, refusing to answer. One of his hands left my wrist, gently stroking along my cheek.

"That's not something I should call you is it?"

I gulped, making myself focus on the here and now.

"I-it's fine, it'll be nice to have someone call me that and mean it."

The hand on my face tightened, gripping my jaw almost painfully. Well, almost painfully for me, not a regular person. My pain tolerance was understandably higher than the average persons' after the fucking experiments all those years ago. And of course, the near-real idea of more pain got my heart racing and blood heating up again.

"You wanna talk or grope me? If you keep hurtin' me - which feels way too fuckin' good to be healthy - all you're gonna do is get me started again."

"Hmmm, thought I was imagining that. Pain really ... gets you goin'?"

"Fuck yes," I replied, wrenching his hand from my face and pressing it against the (once again) growing bulge in my pants.

"Just that little amount of pain did this,"

"Fuck,"

"Exactly, and damn, if we weren't in a public place right now ..."

He chuckled nervously.

"That I don't think I'm ready for just yet. I already pushed things too much. I haven't ... fucked things up have I?"

I smirked, kissing him roughly, stealing a very short kiss.

"If you beat me, we could do more of this. If not, you'll have to wait till after I beat the gym here."

"Deal," he said, squeezing me through my jeans.

"Just make sure you don't lose on purpose,"

* Not like I would, it would feel too wrong to just give up. Go against everything I believe in. *

—- —- —-

"You're next Croconaw!"

"Blitz it's your turn!"

* Let's see how you deal with this. He uses a similar combo, but his is much faster and will tire you out quickly if I have him use the upgraded version. *

Which of course, I would.

"Rage,"

"Teleport and use Ice punch,"

"Hn, an ice attack ... you really wanna lose don't you?"

* No actually ... *

The attack hit with a dull thwack and I smirked.

"I'm just gettin' started."

"Teleport, Psychic,"

"What the fuck man? Do you always havta do that?"

"Yes, since you strategize so much, why don't you counter it?"

"I haven't figured that out yet,"

I snorted. "You mean every time you try you can't help but think about me, which distracts you soooo much you can't get any thinkin' done,"

"Grrr ... Rage,"

"Just keep things up,"

The combo was too much for the water-type. With Psychic (a much stronger move than Confusion) this combo would be a handful for anyone without type advantages.

"You're done," I said, ordering one last volley of the attacks.

The final Psychic took Croconaw out of the battle.

"Go! Sneasel!"

"Finish this up Ash!"

Blitz went back in his ball and the fire type came out. Aerron lay his head on my shoulder again, which prompted a very obvious growl from Silver.

"It's not my fault he likes me," I said in response.

"You're encouraging it,"

"No, I'm not doing anything but being friendly. Besides, as long as all he does is be affectionate it doesn't bother me."

"You want him then?"

"Not like you're implying. He's a friend, a friend who likes to protect me. If that's what he wants to do, I won't be stoppin' him,"

"Fair enough," Silver agreed grudgingly.

"Quick attack,"

"Howl, then dodge,"

"Not happening, Faint attack!"

* Not good ... *

"Quick attack,"

Ash just barely avoided the dark-type move.

* That was close ... *

"Quick attack then Flame wheel,"

"Quick attack then Fury swipes,"

* Hope he hits first ... *

I was lucky, Ash's attack landed first. The ice type hit the ground hard, but got up.

"Quick attack and then Flame wheel again."

This was a combo actually. The Quick attack, while typically not landing, sped up his next attack so much it was nearly impossible to dodge. It also made the attack stronger due to the extra power and momentum. It was something we'd trained long and hard to achieve, but definitely paid off.

When the combo hit, the ice type did not get up. Ash came over to me and lay his head against my knee. I ran my hands lightly over the flames, then just let them warm me as I pulled back just enough to feel the heat. That was another thing that would seal the deal with Silver. If he was nice and warm (which was pretty likely) I would have a hard time resisting.

* As strong as I am I turn into fuckin' goo if there is a guy willing to hurt me, dominate me, and is nice and warm ... Kinda pathetic isn't it? *

"'thought you wanted more?" Silver asked when our last pokemon were either recalled (in his case) or sent off the battle field.

I shrugged. "I do, but this gym is what I wanna do first,"

"You're runnin' then?"

"No, but we do need to talk before we 'do more.'"

He sighed. "I agree. I have lots of questions for you."

I snorted. "Hopefully my little slip in control helped with that. I'm what they call a class 70 Psy - border on Emotional render as well as being an impossibly powerful Psychometric. And yes, that is what was done to me when I was kidnapped. They did so many things to me ..."

"And why didn't you just tell me?"

It was my turn to sigh.

"Would you have believed me? We barely know each other, so the 'trust' thing isn't exactly high right now. Look, I know you have questions, and I will answer them, but I need to know something first."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm a freak?"

(He is biting his lip. Can I hurt him if he says 'yes"')

"You wanna hurt a human now?"

(If he hurts you then yes. Ash and Aerron are more than willing as well. Even the baby says he will help.)

It was saying something for the little guy (who usually just stayed in my arms) to want to hurt someone.

* Maybe he's got a darker streak in him ... *

"I ... Look, this stuff is weird, but no, I don't,"

I sighed. "And before you ask, I was talkin' to Klefki. Another thing they did, somehow I can hear his voice in my head, but can't respond back mentally."

"That's ... you're not makin' that up?"

"Does it sound sane enough to be made up?"

"Alright, I believe you."

"Do you? Is it only that you might think I was telling the truth about my powers and are paranoid I'll use them against you now you know what I am capable of?"

* And that wasn't even half of it if the files I stole before leaving are to be believed ... *

"What? I know that was an accident. And at first, I caused it anyway."

"We are talkin' about that stupid question you asked earlier right?"

"Yeah,"

"I ... it's painful to even think about what they did, that's why I wanted you to look shit up. You seem like a resourceful guy, you got good information right?"

"Yeah,"

The words 'more resourceful than you want to know' popped into my head. Before I could stop myself I asked:

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"You're hiding something aren't you? I didn't actively try, but I just heard you think: more than you want to know. What the fuck does that mean?"

He sighed. "You know those Team rocket guys you've been runnin' into?"

"How did you know that? You haven't been spyin' on me have you?"

The question was phrased and intoned as light and joking, but I really did want to know.

"No, I ..."

"You what?"

"I was a member of Team rocket ... until a few weeks ago,"

* What?! *

"Now you're fuckin' with me aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm the son of Giovanni, the head of Team rocket."

I rolled my eyes.

"If you're his son, why would you leave?"

"He's been dealing with some ... shady people and I didn't want to be a part of the fall-out, which I am sure is coming."

"People like who?"

"Well, they have files on this thing called Cyphr ..."

There was probably more, but I tuned it out.

* You did not just say that?! *

"Back up man. Did you just say Cyphr? As in C. i. p. h. r.?"

"Yeah what about it?"

I clenched my fists, hearing Ash's flames grow higher and louder, Aerron and Eevee's growls, and Klefki's furious jangling. I winced.

"Guys stop, it hurts,"

Thankfully they did.

"What's so 'bad' about them?" Silver pressed.

"I will only say this once," I said, my nails digging bloody furrows into my palms.

"Cyphr. is. who. did. this. to. me."

"You're bleeding,"

"I know,"

Eventually I told him what I could about the organization, which wasn't much. I had the files, but I'd have to did through my pack to find them, and didn't really feel like it at the moment.

"So I'll see you tonight then?" Silver asked.

I nodded. "I'll call you after the gym battle. Hell, you can watch if you want."

"That wouldn't ... I don't know, bother you?"

I grinned. "Might be a little distractin' but nothin' I can't handle as long as you stay in the stands and don't get too close."

"Sounds good, see you then,"

"Silver,"

"Yeah?"

"If you're goin' ta train and catch pokemon, get some extras. I have things I could trade and if you can only find one of something, I can probably duplicate it."

"How?"

"I have a Ditto,"

"Lucky. I'll do that."

—- —- —-

I'd gotten 1408 from beating Silver, which was doubled to 2816 ... which was then cut and put lowered to 1408 - the amount I kept. Lucario had been holding the Amulet coin to make this possible. I battled a few trainers (all items were found by the fire-normal duo earlier) and then went downstairs.

Down there I got 1 Revive, and 1 Antidote. I captured a Koffing and 2 Magmar. The Koffing seemed rather useless, but I could trade the second fire type. I thought I'd smelled the scent of a fire-type around Silver. This was something I knew quite well since I owned 4 of them, and had trained with or was using at least 2 at a time.

* If I was smelling a fire-type, he might want another one. *

(He was walking around with that Sneasel of his and something I didn't recognize earlier ...)

The thought could not have come at a better time.

I slid the pack off my shoulders, drawing a pokemon from memory. It was a unique combination of dark-type and fire-type.

"Did it look like this?" I asked.

(Exactly like that.)

"That's a Houndour. They're kinda rare, but really cool from what I've read. Dark and fire type at the same time ..."

(Sounds ... deadly,)

"Sounds fuckin' awesome if you ask me. Besides Fire and Psychic types - and fighting of course - I always wanted a dark-type."

(Why not ask Momo for one?)

"I don't need to. I already have the building block for the one I want the most."

(What do you mean?)

I rubbed at Eevee's ears, hearing the baby snoring softly.

* Guess all that running around with Ash wore him out. *

"Eevee evolves into Umbreon, one of the best dark-types found in Johto."

(Ah, I have heard of that one. The people who had me said an 'adversary and traitor' had one along with something called Espeon.)

"Espeon's the psychic evolution of Eevee, which I might get, not sure yet,"

—- —- —-

(There are three very large pokemon nearby.)

I could 'feel' great power, but had no idea what it was. It was so strong, I thought it might be more than one 'thing.' I barely heard what Klefki said.

* Three pokemon? The Legendary dogs maybe? *

I started moving toward the power source, hoping I could find out what it was. Before I could I heard a sound (like jumping maybe) and the power disappeared.

(Three pokemon just 'hopped' then left.)

I could feel that the power was completely gone, as if the pokemon weren't even in the building anymore.

I climbed the stairs.

(They have left the building,)

"Kinda figured that,"

I stepped outside.

(The yellow one went east and the red one went west.)

"There were three you said, where's the other one?"

(I don't know where the blue one went,)

"Yellow red and blue how ironic,"

Yellow, Red, and Blue were the first Pokedex holders according to the books I'd read in school.

* Wonder what they're all doing now? *

Silver, Tuesday, 18:00 (Route 38) —-

A call came through on my Pokegear as I walked along the route. The number was unfamiliar. Someone named 'professor oak' wanted to see me. When I told him where I was, he said to go back to Ecruteak. He was going to meet me there apparently.

—- —- —-

"You are Silver Rocketo?" an old man asked as I entered the conference room.

The nurse had led me here, saying an old man was looking for me.

"Yeah what of it?"

"I should have done this a while ago,"

A slim black device was handed to me.

I flipped open the lid and blinked several times, almost dropping it. Inside were inscribed the words 'silver and blue forever.'

* Blue ... why does that name mean something? I don't know anyone named that ... *

"She wanted you to have it ... she knew you'd react like this. She said it was time for you to remember, and if you had someone you could trust that you should let them help,"

"Who are you talkin' about?" I asked.

"Blue of course. The 'dex holder Blue. You really don't remember her do you?"

"No. This is all a joke isn't it?" I asked angrily.

"No it's not. She was sure her name would ... mean something. I have to get back to my research. I need you to use that Pokedex and gather info on Pokemon for me. I already have Murasaki and Lyra from New bark town working on it, but it's better to have more ... even if they are the son of a crime lord and a former criminal themselves."

I bristled at that.

"No no son, nothing to be ashamed of. At least you're not with them anymore right?"

I nodded and he left.

Murasaki, Tuesday, 18:05 (Ecruteak city) —-

Eusine came and chatted with me outside, saying something about the Legendary dogs. I was so overwhelmed by what had been happening the last few hours, I barely paid attention. I taught Growlithe Strength (at Klefki's suggestion) and walked back inside the tower, going back downstairs. Tm 12 Taunt was behind the boulders in the basement. I put it away and then left for the city again.

—- —- —-

I bought some poke balls (9 of them) before doing anything else. In the 'center I overheard a conversation while I waited for my pokemon to be healed. Two boys (fans of trainers by the sound of it) were discussing Morty, the gym leader here in Ecruteak. They mentioned he used ghost types, and 'how awesome' they were.

* I'll havta center my team around dealin' with 'em then. *

I decided my team was perfect to deal with ghosts so I didn't change it. I had Quilava, Klefki, Kirlia, Lucario, Eevee, and Growlithe. I'd heard that ghosts were weak against psychic, dark, and fire type moves. I had all right here, Lucario's Dark pulse making up the 'dark' part of the equation. I did want to evolve Eevee first though, which would be a genuine dark-type to use. Plus, Umbreon were just awesome and I really wanted one.

At the gym I defeated all the trainers, making sure to start out with (and do most of the work with) Aerron, before letting Eevee take some exp by switching to him at the end of each fight with an opponent's pokemon. He was a normal-type, but as of now he had no attack that could do damage to a ghost. So yeah, this was the best way to level him up. Before any of the battles though, I gave him the Soothe bell. I'd heard something somewhere about needing a certain amount of happiness to evolve Eevee into Umbreon, but wasn't sure how much.

After healing I called Momo. I asked her about how to evolve Eevee into Umbreon. She told me I needed to get its happiness to 220 at night while training. He was already very happy, but after checking the amount with the Pokedex, I decided some more training was in order. I had a few other things I wanted to do first though.

—- —- —-

At the National park, I competed in a contest. I captured a lv 14 Scyther, which won me first place. I got a Sun stone for winning, which I was happy about. I could now evolve Gloom into Bellosom. After the contest was over I went and snagged a Sunkern, reminding myself to join another contest the next time they were available for a second Sun stone to evolve it.

Since I near it, I went to the Pokeathlon stadium. I bought 2 Yellow apricorns and 1 Pink, making a shake for Eevee. I gave it to him and then entered him (along with Blitz and Aerron) in several competitions. I counted 5 more ribbons before stopping. All the competitions I'd won with first place.

I made my way to the counter and asked what prizes there were for the day. After Klefki helped me out with the list, I purchased 2 more Yellow apricorns, another Moomoo milk, 2 Fire stones, and a Pp up. That all cost 6600 p points, which wasn't a problem since I had plenty.

I put everything away, then went for my next errand, selling Rare candies. I sold 2 for 5600 in Goldenrod's department store. I also picked up a Lottery ticket (for the usual 300 poke dollars) and won tm 60 Drain punch.

—- —- —-

Back in Azalea town I picked up the Fast ball I'd wanted Kurt to make. I left 2 Yellow apricorns with him, which he told me would make Moon balls - for catching pokemon that evolved with Moon stones. On the way to Azalea I'd found and snagged a Lapras in the water on the basement floor of Union cave, which I'd work with later. She was lv 20.

I traversed Union cave once more in order to get back to Violet city. I coulda gone through Ilex forest to Goldenrod then onto Ecruteak from there, but it would have taken so much longer. At least this way I could get to Violet city and then go to Ecruteak through the shortcut where Sudowoodo once was.

—- —- —-

On Route 37 I took the time to level everyone up to lv 30. Eevee was the exception to this of course. It was 17:30 - close, but not close enough to night time to evolve him.

Route 42 was where I found myself next. I spent some time looking for a Mankey, another fighting type. I finally found and caught one, night falling right after. That is when I started Eevee's training again.

After the battles in the gym, he was already lv 12. Two levels later, Eevee evolved into Umbreon. I stood there, running my hands along his body, (which he was used to by now and didn't seem to mind) marveling at how awesome he now looked. Umbreon was fantastic overall, but I'd loved the look of them after Momo'd shown me a picture of one some years before. I took the time to level him to 30 - which would make him equal with the others.

—- —- —-

At the gym I did pretty well. Kirlia took down the Gastly and one Haunter, Lucario took down the Gengar, and Umbreon (which was now named Zephyr) trounced the last Haunter. Since psychic moves were good against ghosts, Kirlia had little trouble. The other two just used their dark-type moves. I coulda used Quilava or Growlithe here, but it wasn't necessary.

I got the Fog badge, tm 30 shadow ball, and 5520 for winning. That was then divided down to equal 2760. I taught Shadow ball to Zephyr then exited the gym.


	10. Chapter 10

* * * chapter IX * * *

\- Trades, Training, and Miscellaneous

Author's note: All eggs in my story start at lv 1 after being hatched. Not sure if eggs can be traded in HGSS, but they will be able to be traded in this story.

Murasaki, 22:01 (Ecruteak city) —-

In the 'center I healed everyone, pulling out my Pokegear to make a call.

"Hello,"

"Hey Hunter, I finished at the gym,"

* Should I be callin' him that? *

"Hn, you win?"

"Yeah,"

"So where are you at right now?" he asked.

"Healing at the 'center,"

"Why don't you come to my room, we still need to talk remember."

* And do more I hope ... *

I could just imagine how he'd react, slamming me against a wall (or the door) and swallowing my shocked cry with a searing kiss that would leave me breathless.

* Arceus damn ... *

"... you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry,"

"In your own little world?"

* How did you know? * I thought sarcastically.

"Yep,"

"So, see you in a bit then?"

"Sure,"

—- —- —-

I stood in front of the door to Silver's room, trying to make my hand move.

* Knock already! Your pokemon aren't here to make fun of you and you know you want to ... *

Even Klefki had stayed in my room. I took a deep breath and knocked softly.

"Hey, thought you'd never knock,"

I shrugged.

"This is kinda awkward for me too. Haven't really felt ... like this before."

"What do you mean? Come in before you answer that,"

I stepped inside, immediately smelling a scent that was so familiar. I wanted to curl up on the bed and just lie there, his scent surrounding me. His voice brought me out of my fantasy.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed."

"By what?"

I bit my lip.

"This is your domain. Well, you've stayed here for a little while, so it's ... Your emotions and scent are all over this room ..."

* Fuck it, might as well have told him you're fuckin' obsessed right? *

"... ok. Think you can explain that a little more?"

"I ... To a non-psychic it's probably hard to understand. You leave a kind of 'footprint' where ever you go. All people do really, and someone like me, a Psychometric on the highest end of the scale ... it's even stronger to me."

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, 'feeling' his confusion.

* Maybe being sighted for him might help here ... *

"Look at it like this. Normally someone would leave an afterimage, some sort of color that a Psychometric might be able to pick up on. In your living space, even though it's only where you might have slept, the color is brighter. Just not colors when its me obviously, but I've heard of some that see like that who are like me."

"So you're saying because I've stayed in this room, what you feel is stronger ... than you would normally 'feel' from me?"

I nodded. "Exactly,"

"So ... uh, who goes first?" I asked finally, walking toward him.

I placed a hand on his arm, having to hold back a shiver at the contact. I could feel his interest in me (not just in a sexual way) and it was not only overwhelming, but also surprising.

* I thought sex was all he wanted the first time we kissed, but I'm pretty sure I was wrong ... *

"You I guess ..."

I raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"What do ya wanna know?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Why not how your powers work? The book I found gave some explanations, but was kind of vague on any ... specific Psychometric."

I sighed, letting my fingers start a slow circular pattern on his wrist. It was actually calming somehow.

* That's something I should remember for later ... *

"What, not going to tell me now that we're alone?" he asked angrily.

I grimaced, gripping his wrist just tight enough to keep him from walking away.

"No, just give me a minute to gather my thoughts. That's a much more complex question than I'm sure you realize,"

I quested with my other hand, dragging it along his arm 'till I found his face. I cupped his cheek lightly.

"I will tell you," I said with finality, tempted to just kiss him and smooth away the anger I could 'feel' slowly leaving him.

"Ok." he said, one of his hands landing atop mine on his face.

A few minutes later I was as ready as I would ever be.

"Basically, when I enter a building or area, I can sense several things about it. The people and pokemon are the easiest, since they have emotions, but objects also give off a sort of emotional charge. When someone touches an object, they leave a small impression of themself on it, not unlike the 'footprint' I told you about earlier. This one is much fainter, more like 'someone was here' and not 'someone is here.' Does this make sense so far?"

"I think so. You really feel all that? Being in a Department store must be hell on you."

"Yeah, it is. The Game corner in Goldenrod was a lot worse though."

"Why's that?"

I shrugged. "So many emotions, most of them desperate or depressing."

"Shit ..."

"If there are strong enough thoughts in an area I will 'feel' those too. For example ... In Azalea I arrived just in time to see a Rocket grunt torturing a woman. I 'felt' his malice and eagerness to harm."

"Was it more like thoughts, or actually emotions?"

"If I'd been closer or actually touching him I coulda gotten thoughts easily."

"But you can't actually read minds?"

"I could if someone was frantic enough or trusted me. By touching them I would only get the thoughts on the surface though unless they wanted me to get more."

"How does that work?"

"If they want to give me more they would 'project' the thoughts consciously. Normally someone just thinks, and I 'hear' their thoughts when I am able. When they do it on purpose, I can get more."

"That goes with what I read ..." I heard Silver mutter.

"So is there any more to this Psychometry thing?"

"Yeah. It used to just be that I could get the information when I was really close to its source. Now though, it seems like if I concentrate enough, I could find out exactly who was in a building or area, and what they were feeling."

"Sounds like a lot to process,"

"Sure fuckin' is,"

"So what about ... what did you call it? Talking in your mind with your pokemon?"

I sighed, biting my lip.

"I don't have any material for you to read on that."

"I don't care about that anymore."

* You sure about that? *

I must have had a disbelieving expression on my face because he gripped my jaw tightly and turned my head.

"Look, I know all this would sound a little nuts to anyone else, but if I didn't believe you would I be askin' about it?"

"Guess not ..."

He let me go, a hand landing on my shoulder.

"I can 'connect' with - it's only pokemon as far as I know right now - more than others. When I still thought Klefki was a key he thought something and I heard it. I'm not a Telepath, but if surface thoughts are there I can pick them up. Telepaths can read minds, that's their special power."

"So that's how it started then?"

I sighed. "Hunter, I'm pretty sure this thing with pokemon is from the experiments done on me 12 years ago, not my natural talents."

A growl could be heard, and with my enhanced senses it was almost deafening.

"Whoever this Cyphr or Ciphr are, they are so dead when I find them."

I chuckled. "My thoughts exactly."

—- —- —-

"So tell me about when you worked with Team rocket," I said, sitting on the bed next to him.

There was a sigh from the other boy.

"Other than specific missions and objectives there's not much to tell. I was part of one of the worst criminal organizations in the world, and up until ... four or five years ago that didn't bother me. I was hurting both humans and pokemon, but I just couldn't make myself care."

I hummed.

"So why'd you join in the first place?"

"It was a family tradition you could say. I lived on the streets for a while 'till I heard about Team R. Word was they could make someone strong, even a kid like me. So I went to join up, finding out Giovanni, the leader, was my father."

"How did you find that out?"

"Not hard really. Though he has a different muscle structure than me, we look a lot alike. Of course, I musta gotten this hair color from my mom,"

I reached out, sliding fingers along his shoulder until they brushed against something softer.

"What color is it?"

"Before I answer that, tell me something,"

"Hmmm?"

"You are actually blind right? I mean, your ... other senses don't cloud up visuals do they?"

I chuckled.

"What?!"

"When you say it like that, I sound like a fuckin' robot. No, my eyes don't work ... so yeah, blind is the word you want here,"

He sighed in relief, placing a hand on my arm.

"So ... uh?"

It was his turn to chuckle now.

"It's red, like fire-engine red."

"And that's the natural color?" I asked, grasping a few strands of said hair and running my fingers through it.

He hummed. "Yeah,"

All was silent for a moment.

"So, you said you were part of Team R. Won't they come after you when they notice you've left?"

He lightly smacked me on the arm.

"If you'd let me talk Ryu, you'd know the answer to that."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Alright, alright," he said, taking one of my hands in his. He started rubbing the skin gently as he began to speak.

"They will come looking, but won't have an easy time finding me."

I smirked, shoving his shoulder lightly then placing my head on said shoulder.

"What, you in disguise?"

"Yeah actually,"

He went on to explain what he'd done to 'hide' himself from them.

"So, you think different colored eyes and clothes will really work?" I asked, wishing he was still wearing the jacket he'd mentioned so I could touch it.

* It probably smells like him too ... *

His scent was ... predatory is the best word I can think of to describe it. Not like he used that behavior a lot, but more like he could if he wanted to. So more of a lazy wolf that only proves itself when it wants to.

* Thus 'hunter' ... *

"You'll be surprised how well little changes like that actually work," he said, running a hand through my hair.

"What did you usually do for them anyway?" I wanted to know.

"Mostly steal pokemon and collect information ... all through illegal means of course. You never explained the 'render' thing."

I smirked, squeezing his wrist lightly.

"You sure you wanna know?"

"If it might happen again, you losing control, I wanna know what you're capable of."

I bit my lip.

"I can 'shove' my own emotions or those of others at a person like an almost physical force. Think of the emotions as just sitting there ... like water maybe. I can form them into a wall or knife and use them to fight with. If there's enough will behind the action, I can do physical damage."

At some point one of Silver's hands must have landed on my hip, 'cause I noticed it keenly as he rubbed the spot.

* So more it is then ... *

I smirked, grasping his shoulders tightly, pressing my lips against his. He responded in kind, his hands circling my wrists and squeezing tightly.

* Shit ... *

Before I knew what was happening I was pinned beneath him on the bed, my wrists held in a bruising grip. I managed to break the kiss, panting lightly.

"Harder ..." I practically begged.

He complied, increasing the strength of his grip. I felt rather than heard the moan that escaped my lips.

I couldn't move much, so I just connected our lips again. When I did however, he immediately took control of the kiss. I whined in the back of my throat as he broke it, not liking the lack of contact. He nuzzled my neck then crashed our lips together, repeating what he'd done a few days before. I felt like I was being devoured, and fucking loved it.

I had no idea how long the intense make-out session lasted, but at some point he pulled back for air and lay his head on my shoulder. The pressure around my wrists loosened and I was able to move more. I ran a hand through his unbound hair, loving the feel of it.

* It's really hot he's let it grow out so long ... *

I was content to just lie there for a while until I felt something hard pressing against me. I wasn't exactly shocked by the idea itself, but rather awed that only kissing could 'cause that reaction in him.

* Gonna love this if all it takes is kissing to get him started ... *

I smirked, my free hand moving down to grip his cock through the pants he wore. A quiet curse was the reaction I got.

* You won't be cursin' when I'm done with ya. Hmmm you might, but it won't be just 'fuck' it'll be more like 'fuck yeah.' *

A few minutes later I was on top of him, his dick in my mouth. It didn't take long for me to swallow most of it. I couldn't heal quicker than a regular human, but pain tended to not scare me so much. Ten minutes later (with little breaks) I had the whole thing down my throat, sucking eagerly. Silver's hands were in my hair, tugging lightly and urging me on.

All I could think was 'hell yeah' and 'you're so big.' Occasionally I'd pull back just enough to tongue his slit before going back to sucking. It didn't take too long for him to come like this - the creamy liquid eagerly being swallowed.

Once I'd licked up everything (making sure he was completely clean) I lay my head against his thigh. His hands slowly carded through my hair, soothing in a way I didn't think possible.

* He really knows how to make me feel better ... and he barely knows me ... *

"Ryu?"

I hummed. "Yeah?"

"Can I uh ..."

I blinked, confused.

"Can you what?"

He cleared his throat nervously.

"Mind if I try that too?"

It took me a few minutes to figure out what he meant.

"You wanna suck me off?"

"Yeah,"

I smiled, nuzzling his neck.

"Go ahead,"

He took his time, licking around the crown and slit before finally taking what he could into his mouth. He was actually bigger than me, but he only managed most (not all like me). I wasn't going to complain though: it felt soooo good. I had a tight grip on his shoulders, trying to keep from thrusting into the warm wet heat of his mouth.

* He's not ready for that yet ... *

To my surprise he pulled off my dick completely, his emotions spiking. They had been all of lust and desire before, but now were a mixture of irritation and lust.

* What did I do? *

"You're holdin' back," he accused, digging his nails into my wrists just hard enough to draw blood.

I moaned, bucking against him. He chuckled, circling his hand around the base of my cock to keep me from coming.

* Damn it ... *

"Why are you holding back?" he asked.

The tone of his voice was light, but the emotions I could 'feel' from him promised harm if I didn't answer.

* What's his deal? *

"Y-you're not ready for me to ... thrust into your mouth while you're taking me in just yet. This is your first time right?"

He snickered. "Let me be the judge of that,"

And before I could stop him he was engulfing me again, taking even more in than previously.

* Fuck ... *

—- —- —-

I hummed contentedly as I rested my head on his shoulder. After sucking every last drop from me Silver'd helped me out of my clothes, leaving my boxers on. It was my request that we both strip to underwear, the opportunity to sample his body heat was just too good to pass up. He was really warm like I'd thought, something which I was grateful for.

Though I was obviously male, sometimes my body temperature ran a little colder than usual. Due to the experiments this wasn't a serious problem to my health, but it did make me react oddly around heat sources. One of the documents I had from when I was 'kidnapped' mentioned that I may have been exposed to the DNA of a snake pokemon. There was no other evidence pointing to this theory, but if true, it would make sense. It would definitely explain why I seemed so enraptured by Ash's heat patches while they were active.

Once we were both calmed down from our activities I'd asked if it was alright for me to stay the night in Silver's room. He had no problem with that, even seemed to like the idea. So that's how I came to be curled up against his chest, skin to skin, lazy-limbed and happy. Thankfully for us all of his pokemon were in their balls for the night.

Silver, Wednesday, 10:00 (Ecruteak city Pokemon center) —-

It took me several minutes to figure out why things felt off to me when I woke up. I blinked my eyes open, hoping to find out that way. There was something soft and pretty light on top of me. I looked down to see white-purple hair and tanned skin.

* So I didn't dream any of that. He really was here last night ... Oh, and I sucked him last night too ... *

I could remember my own performance vaguely, but his efforts were etched into my mind like a chiseled statue.

* Damn that felt soooo good. Hope he wants to do it again. *

I gently shook his shoulder, not really wanting to wake him, but knowing it was late enough for both of us to be waking up for the day. A glance to my Pokegear confirmed this: the black numbers 10:10 displayed.

After helping gather up his clothes (which I had forgotten to fold up and put into a neat pile) Murasaki left. This bothered me; I was normally a lot neater.

* I'll just havta work on that then. *

I let all my pokemon out, rummaging in my pack for their food. After locating it I set to work putting together a suitable breakfast for myself.

Murasaki, Wednesday, 10:20 (Ecruteak city Pokemon center) —-

Once everyone was fed (including me) I met Silver in the 'center's lobby.

"Was wonderin' if ya wanted ta trade with me today?" I asked.

I was aware of how my phrasing sounded, but was unable to really do anything about it. I got a little tongue-tied when nervous. Last night had gone well, but I had no idea how I was supposed to act now. This approach, while having odd speech patterns, would be how I'd treat someone I was familiar and more comfortable with.

* And hell, I'm even more familiar with him now than I am with Momo ... *

"Sure. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Hmmm," I thought, biting my lip in thought.

"I only have one electric type right now, so let's start with that."

"I just caught a Magnemite - an electric and steel type - along with a Meowth and a Mankey."

I thought for a moment.

"You want to keep the Magnemite?"

"Yeah, but I can get another one."

I smiled. "Meowth would be cool too. I always wanted it's evolved form."

"Hn, Persian huh?"

"Yeah,"

"So should we get started then?" he asked.

I shook my head, walking forward and placing a hand on his arm. He was wearing the jacket now, something which pleased me. I really liked the texture of it.

* Fuckin' get ahold of yourself Mura! *

"Not just yet, I wanna put Umbreon in the day care near Goldenrod today."

He placed a hand on top of mine.

"You'd get an Eevee if he bred right?" he asked.

I nodded. "Let's see ..." I heard him say.

(He's pulled out one of those Pokedex things you have and is using it.)

* Lookin' up Eevee no doubt. *

A few minutes (and typing later) he squeezed my hand a little.

"Think I could have one of the eggs if he breeds? I'd really like a Flareon."

* Hmmm, going for mostly fire-types Hunter? *

I smirked. "Thinkin' of becoming a fire-type trainer Hunter?"

There were trainers who chose certain types (gym leaders were notorious for that sort of thing) but I'd never actually met one.

* Momo is probably border line at this point though ... *

"Maybe,"

"What else do you have?" the other boy asked.

* Oh hell, the list is really long ... *

"Klefki, Quilava, Sentret, Geodude, Fearow, Ledyba, Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, Bellsprout, Noctowl, Onyx, Hoppip, Flaafy, Wooper, Ekans, Haunter, Togepi, Sandslash, Gyarados, Kirlia, Monferno, Gloom, Paras, Heracross, Aipom, Drowzee, Abra, Ditto, Krabby, Machop, Dratini, Lucario, Nidoran M, Nidoran F, Poliwag, Yanma, Growlithe, Vulpix, Stantler, Sudowoodo, Exeggcute, Koffing, Magmar, Scyther, Sunkern, Lapras, and Mankey."

It was a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Magmar's a fire-type right?"

"Yeah,"

"I also want a Ralts ... What type is Lapras?"

I thought for a moment, trying to remember. I hadn't used Lapras after capturing it since it was sent to the pc due to me already having six pokemon.

"Water I think. I know it can learn some ice type moves as well,"

"I want that one too then,"

"So Eevee, Magmar, Ralts, and Lapras then?" I asked, trying to confirm things.

"Yeah,"

I laced our fingers together, feeling Ash (knew by the hotter temperature) lean against my legs.

"What you want for those?"

I thought for a moment, wondering what he had.

"Meowth and Magnemite for sure ... Got any normal or fire types I don't?"

I was going to look for fire-types myself, but if he had one I might as well check it out.

"I got a Houndour recently ... there should be more normal-types on Route 38."

"Catch me one and we'll call it even. I'll meet you at the day care then?"

"Right,"

—- —- —-

The first thing I did after dropping off Umbreon in the pc was grab Dratini and add him to the team. I gave him the Lucky egg and started leveling him, snagging a Ditto for Silver when one showed up.

* This should make things easier ... *

The dragon-type was surprisingly easy to train. Though only level 15 at first, he was able to take down most opponents without getting a scratch on him. Since this was an easier route that made sense. When he was level 20 I went to check on Umbreon's progress with my Ditto.

There were three eggs, so I put Dratini away, grabbed Umbreon, put three random pokemon in the pc, and carefully brought the eggs to the pc. I brought Lapras out next, it was her turn now. After fixing my party I went back outside for more training.

Dratini had just reached level 22 when my Pokegear rang. The old man from the day care told me there was an egg, so I went to retrieve it. After dealing with that I withdrew Kirlia and put him in the day care.

* This is the last one ... at least the last one we discussed ... *

Back outside Dratini leveled some more. He'd just reached lv 25 when I 'felt' a familiar person approaching.

* Wondered where you were Hunter ... *

A press of a button and the words "twelve-fifteen" could be heard from my Pokegear.

* Didn't know it'd been that long ... *

—- —- —-

I handed the poke ball containing the Ditto I'd recently found to Silver. He thanked me and put the Ditto (along with his Houndour) in the day care.

* That's the last one ... It's a good thing eggs can be traded, otherwise this would take forever. *

While we waited, I took Magmar (I'd caught 2 of them in the Burned tower) and the Lapras egg from the pc. I also acquired the Ralts egg as well, (noting there was another one for me to pick up later).

Magmar was traded for Meowth, Magnemite was traded for Eevee, (in egg) and Ralts was traded for Miltank (which Silver had found and caught for me). In fact, he'd caught me Meowth and Magnemite of my own as well. Once the Houndour was done breeding (which took only a short time) the Houndour egg was traded for the Lapras egg. The last thing I did in the building was get the last Ralts egg and put it into the pc.

Dratini popped out of his ball as we were about to leave the day care.

"What pokemon is that?" Silver asked.

"Dratini, he's my only dragon type right now,"

There was silence for a moment.

"Can you breed him with Ditto for me?"

I smirked softly, kissing him before picking up the dragon-type.

"Sure,"

—- —- —-

Back on the route we both worked on hatching the eggs we'd gotten. I had Aerron, Ash, Klefki, and Abra with me along with two of the Eevee eggs. Silver had his Sneasel, Croconaw, Houndour, and Vulpix with him along with the Eevee and Ralts eggs I'd given him. I decided to go train near the water (using Surf and the Old rod both) while Silver stayed in the grass on the route (34).

After a few hours (with small breaks for water and food in between) both of my Eevee eggs hatched. Silver's eggs must have hatched too since he started in my direction.

"Yours hatch yet?" he asked.

I smiled. "Just did,"

"So did mine,"

I grinned as my two new baby pokemon ran up behind me. I picked them both up and rubbed their ears.

"Aren't they cute?" I asked the other boy.

"Yeah they are,"

"Gotta put you guys down for a second," I said as Ash ran up.

(He says he can watch them for you,)

"Thanks Ash,"

I slid my pack off and rummaged inside, finally bringing out a Fire stone, which I handed to Silver.

"Thanks ... don't you need this though?"

I shrugged. "I'll just get another one later,"

"Alright," he said.

All was silent for a moment, the 'feel' around him going blank.

(He just gave the stone to the Eevee he had out.)

"Flareon!"

* Nice ... now it's my turn ... *

"Hunter?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to evolve one of these Eevees. Let's check in at the day care after that."

"Sounds good,"

Abra was already close to evolving, so I trained him a little. He evolved into Kadabra at lv 16. I had given the Soothe bell to One of the Eevees, and that one was leveling nicely as well. When it reached lv 10 it evolved into Espeon. I kept up the training until lv 15 when he learned Confusion. I'd chosen to name the sun-pokemon Sol.

—- —- —-

Back inside the day care I put Sol in the pc so I could take the Dratini-egg. Silver came into the building a few minutes later. I gave him the egg, refusing another trade.

"No, let's both train our dragons and see which one is stronger."

"Ok," he said, taking the egg from me.

"What you doing after this?" Hunter asked.

I shrugged. "Was thinkin' of training Sol some more (that's my Espeon) and doing some Pokeathlon competitions. Why?"

"Just wondered ... Let's meet up in Olivine later then. I wanted to do some training anyway."

"Alright," I said, glad to have time to train, but sad to see him go.

* He'll be back ... *

Murasaki, Pokeathlon dome, 15:00 (near Goldenrod city) —-

I made sure to train Sol some on the way to the dome, but not the other Eevee. I planned to evolve him into one of the elemental Eevee evolutions later. He was cuddled up in my arms at the moment, content to just sleep for now.

* Hopefully they'll have one of the stones I need as a prize today. I want a Flareon, but Vaporeon and Jolteon would be great too ... *

I could have easily evolved the Eevee into Flareon, but just didn't want to.

Several competitions later (in which Aerron, Ash, and Sol kicked ass) I'd won many more P points. At the prize counter I bought two each of the apricorns offered for the day and some Water stones. After checking what pokemon I'd need the stones for I'd decided to buy 2 for now. Now that I had a Water stone, I could evolve the Eevee in my arms.

I gave him the stone, his emotions going from sleepy to nothing in a matter of seconds. When they re-appeared, they were volatile but also calm somehow. It was almost as if he were perpetually angry, but could control that somewhat.

* This will be interesting ... *

"How does Cyan sound for a name?"

(He loves it,)

—- —- —-

On Route 38 I captured Farfetch'd, Tauros, and Snubbull. The last two were particularly hard to find, but I managed somehow. I also made sure to level up Sol to lv 20. I would work on Cyan as I kept going.

There were a lot of trainers on the route, so I gave the Lucky egg to Cyan and the Amulet coin to Sol since I wanted to train both of them. After three trainer battles (where Cyan got to lv 15 and learned the move Water gun) Momo called me. She said she'd bought me a Revive, a King's Rock, and 3 more Dusk balls. I could get the package from the 'center in Olivine city.

The fourth battle was with a girl who said she could sometimes get Thunder stones for me. I registered her number when it was offered. Ash ran off (along with a curious Sol). They came back with a wht apricorn and a Max potion. That was all for Route 38 so I kept moving.

—- —- —-

On Route 39 a man came up to me.

(He is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt,)

"Hello, my name is Baoba." he said.

I shrugged. "Don't take this the wrong way, but who are you?"

"Sorry, should have mentioned that ... I am the manager of the Safari zone here in Johto."

* Hmmm Momo said the one in Hoenn is pretty useful ... *

"Would you like my number? I can help you with the layout and such when you are able to come visit the site."

"Sure,"

After I typed the number into the Pokegear he left. I continued along the route, getting Cyan to lv 20 just like Sol. I stopped for a bit to find out what tm's and hm's they could learn. I taught Sol Psychic (tm 29) Dig (tm 28) Shadow ball (tm 30) and Flash (tm 70) for now. Cyan learned Ice beam (tm 13) Surf (hm 03) and Return (tm 27). Since he already knew the move Wish, I let him keep that.

(There is an apricorn tree nearby.)

I ran into the tree and picked up the apricorn (which Klefki told me was green). Ash ran off (with both Eevee evolutions now following him). Aerron lay his head on my shoulder, the aura I 'felt' from him calm and happy.

The three runaways brought back a Pp up, an X attack, and a Nugget. I walked around a little, thinking about how horrible the cows (Miltank Klefki informed me) smelled. When I stopped to get a drink of water a little while later, Sol ran off and came back with tm 24 Thunder bolt.

* Musta learned how to do that from Ash ... *

(There is a house here,)

"Alright alright, we'll go in,"

As I walked toward the house I started hearing strange noises. Whatever they were they sounded pained, so I kept moving, hoping to find whoever (or whatever) was in pain. Eventually the sounds led me to a shed near the house (Klefki told me where I was) and there was a sick pokemon there. Klefki said it was a Miltank.

I checked my items, pulling out a Super potion.

* I hope this works ... *

The cow only mooed loudly when I brought the item to it.

* What do I use then? It probably won't like the Potions or Max potion I have if it freaks out from this ... *

I put the potion away and on a whim checked on the berry pots. There were several (10 Oran berries) and I started feeding them to the cow. After eating 7 it was fully healed.

Once the cow was healed a girl came up to me. She gave me what she called a Seal case. When I asked her about it she said seals were put into poke balls to make the 'entrance' of a pokemon more dramatic. I had no idea what I'd use them for, but thanked her anyway. Before I could leave the shed another girl came up to me and gave me alphabet seals a b and c.

Inside the house, a lady gave me tm 83 Natural gift. She said I needed berries to use the attack, so I reminded myself to get as many as possible when I could. There was also a man inside that sold Moomoo milk. Since it was cheap and useful, I bought a dozen from him. I could have bought them one at a time but this worked better for me.

—- —- —-

In Olivine city I picked up Momo's package, also healing my party while I was at the 'center. When I left the building I 'felt' Silver nearby.

He came up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey,"

"How'd the training go?" I asked.

"Not too bad. The Safari zone guy find you too?"

I chuckled. "Yeah,"

"The gym's closed for now. The leader is 'taking care of personal business.'"

"What's that supposed ta mean?"

"That's what I'd like to know,"

"You checked out the city yet?" I asked.

"No. There's some water near the edge though ... I'd kinda like to go sit by it."

* Must be a sighted person thing ... *

"Ok, we'll meet up there after I've checked things out around here then?"

"Alright,"

—- —- —-

In a house near the 'center a man gave me a Good rod. He said I could get better pokemon than the Old rod when I used it. I smiled and thanked him, planning on trying it out later. In another house near the 'center a little girl gave me some more seals. In a different house there was a guy who said he'd trade me a Voltorb for a Krabby. I didn't really need that pokemon (another electric type according to the Pokedex) at the moment, but would come back for the trade later. Ash ran off and came back with a Full heal before I started looking for Silver.

I concentrated, trying to make myself relax. Inside a building finding people seemed to be easier (I think it had to do with the amount of space) but in a city it wasn't so easy. Eventually I gave up the Psychic-search, using my nose to find water. The first time I came up dry, he wasn't there. As I walked away from that water though I started to 'feel' him nearby.

* Yes! *

—- —- —-

"Do anything fun over here?" I asked as I sidled up to him.

Cyan curled himself around my legs as I leaned against the boy's shoulder.

"What the?"

"Sorry about that. Cyan's been really protective since he evolved. I can tell him to move if he's botherin' ya."

"Is that a Vaporeon?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a huge smile.

He kissed my cheek.

"We're in public, he's fine,"

* So if we weren't you'd want him gone so you could touch me then? *

Out loud I said:

"So what do we do now?"

He hummed.

"Should be able to get some decent pokemon by surfing or fishing around here."

"How about we take turns then. I'll start with fishing and you can Surf first."

He put a hand on my wrist, squeezing hard.

* What was that for? ... oh ... *

I immediately felt my body react, suddenly wanting the pokemon gone.

"Sorry about that, missed you most of the day."

"We've been together a lot more than when we first met." I tried to reason, still feeling a little flustered from the jolt of pain earlier.

"Yeah ... Look Ryu, there's no need for us both to surf and fish. We can just both get duplicates and trade them."

I nodded, putting my hand on top of his on my wrist.

"Ok,"

So that's what we did, Silver surfing while I fished. I managed to catch another Krabby (which I would use in the trade with the Voltorb guy) and a Corsola. The latter was very hard to find and I was getting sick of running into Magikarp, so if Hunter wanted one we'd be breeding mine. Silver came back a few minutes after I'd snagged the Corsola. We agreed that I'd breed the water-rock type later. For now, we'd go to the 'center and trade the Tentacle pokemon he'd

gotten.


End file.
